WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals host Bethel in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the SMU Gym.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC | 1-3 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (0-0 MIAC | 3-1 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped both of their nonconference games at the Pacific Lutheran Thanksgiving Classic last weekend in Parkland, Wash. SMU suffered a 68-54 loss to host Pacific Lutheran on Friday, then came up short in an 80-57 loss to Puget Sound on Saturday. … The Royals have been off since Nov. 26, when they picked up their third win of the season, knocking off Bethany Lutheran 75-63 in Mankato, Minn.

SMU vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
January 12, 2013: Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) scored a game-high 26 points, and the SMU defense held BU leading scorer Taylor Hall to just nine points ¬— 13 below his season average — as the Cardinals beat the Royals 75-72 at the SMU Gym.
February 9, 2013: It was a hot-and-cold afternoon at the Robertson Center. Unfortunately for SMU, it was host Bethel that enjoyed the hot half of that equation. The Royals shot a sizzling 58 percent from the field, knocking down 34 of 59 field goals — including nine 3-pointers — as Bethel handed SMU a 94-46 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback in Arden Hills, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals hit the road on Saturday, as SMU travels to Collegeville, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference matchup against Saint John's. … Bethel is also on the road on Saturday, as the Royals head to St. Paul, Minn., for a 3 p.m. MIAC game against Macalester.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
The Cardinals play three of their final four games before the Christmas break on their home court. … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) scored 15 points in both of SMU's two tournament games last weekend, and has now led the team in scoring in each of their four contests. The sophomore tossed in 12 points against Viterbo in SMU's season-opener, then added a season-best 18 against Crown on Nov. 23, before last weekend's back-to-back 15-point efforts. … Swiggum — an MIAC All-First-Year Team selection a year ago — also hauled in 10 rebounds against Pacific Lutheran last Friday en route to his first double-double of the season and fourth of his career. … Swiggum's 15-point, 10-rebound double-double was the Cardinals' second of the season — Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) posted a 14-point, 11-rebound effort against Crown on Nov. 23 in posting his first collegiate double-double. … Swiggum's 15-point efforts against Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound marked the 16th and 17th times in his collegiate career that the sophomore has scored in double figures. … Swiggum recorded a pair of 20-point performances during his freshman campaign a year ago — netting a career-high 24 points against Augsburg on Jan. 19, then following that up with a 23-point effort against Hamline two days later. … The Cardinals boasted five players in double figures in their 86-81 overtime win over Crown on Nov. 23. … Ferron (14 points), Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn. / 13), Trent Vix (Rushford, Minn. / 11) and Bakari Collins (Kenosha, Wis. / 11) all recorded collegiate highs for points scored against Crown. … Swiggum enters Wednesday's MIAC opener against Bethel averaging in double figures at 15.0 ppg. … Swiggum also leads the team in rebounds with 29 (7.3 rpg). … Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.), who leads the team with 17 assists through four games, equaled his career-high with nine assists vs. Crown on Nov. 23. It was the third time in his career — and second time in two meetings with Crown — the junior has recorded nine assists. … As a team, the Cardinals have knocked down 18 3-pointers, led by Vix (7) and Swiggum (5). … The Cardinals' 86-81 OT win over Crown on Nov. 23 was not only their first win of the season, but also the first win as a collegiate head coach for SMU's Jamison Rusthoven. … SMU's game against Crown was the first overtime contest since Dec. 29, 2010, when the Cardinals outlasted Millikin 66-59 in double-OT. … SMU's 86 points against the Storm on Nov. 23 were the most since netting 87 points in an 87-80 win over Macalester on Dec. 4, 2010.

Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight road games for the Royals, who opened the season playing two of their first three games on their home court. … The Royals have held their last two opponents to 63 points — beating Luther 64-63 and Bethany Lutheran 75-63. … BU's nonconference win over Bethany Lutheran pushed their winning streak to three straight. … Bethel boasted three players in double figures against Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 26, led by Brycen Wojta with 19 points — including a 5-for-6 performance from behind the 3-point line. Kyle Zimmerman chipped in 12 points and Tyler Schmidt netted a career-best 11 points. … Wojta enters Wednesday's game as the team's offensive leader, averaging 18.2 ppg — including back-to-back season-high 21-point efforts against UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire — while Zimmerman is also averaging in double figures at 10.7 ppg. … Zimmerman is the team's rebounding leader with 24 (8.0 rpg). … As a team, Bethel has drained 26 3-pointers through four games, with Wojta and Trevor Hall leading the way with six and five treys, respectively. … Bethel's 75 points against Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 26 were a season high, one more than the 74-point effort in a 74-67 win over UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 22. … BU drained a season-high 11 3-pointers against Bethany Lutheran.