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COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team could rebound from a slow start on Saturday, as the Cardinals found themselves staring at a 9-0 hole before the game was three minutes old.

And no matter who hard the Cardinals tried to climb out of that game-opening hole, every time they neared the top, Saint John's would knock them back down a rung or two, as the Johnnies handed SMU a 68-57 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Sexton Arena.

I was really happy with our performance today," said SMU coach Jamison Rusthoven. "We did not meet all of our goals — but we really competed.

"I told the guys earlier in the week about the soft rims and the fans that stand on the sidelines and yell at you — and it all came true," Rusthoven added. "It was a great college atmosphere against a great program."

In their first five possessions, the Cardinals missed three shots and turned the ball over twice — and the Johnnies took advantage, scoring those first nine points and pushing their lead to as many as 19, 29-10, with 6:42 remaining in the opening 20 minutes.

Down, but far from out, the Cardinals began whittling away at that Johnnie advantage, cutting the gap to nine on three separate occasions, including 35-26 at the break.

The Cardinals continued to scratch and claw in the second half, cutting the gap to six, 47-41, on a pair of Bakari Collins (Kenosha, Wis.) free throws, but the Johnnies answered with a 10-2 run to push the lead back to 14, 57-43, with 6:54 remaining — and SJU held the Cardinals at bay the rest of the way.

"We could have folded early and often, but we kept grinding," Rusthoven said. "We had some big games today from our experience veterans in Evan (Pederson) and Will (Swiggum). Our young guys were exposted to the game at a high level and in a hostile environment — which can only help us as we continue to make progress."

Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.), who scored 10 points in the first half, was even better over the game's final 20 minutes, tossing in 11 more points for a season-high 21-point performance. The junior hit 10 of 15 field goals — including a 3-pointer — and added six assists and one steal.

Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.), Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) and Trent Vix (Rushford, Minn.) also scored in double figures for SMU, as the trio all chipped in 10 points. Swiggum also added a team-best nine rebounds.

Blake Maslonkowski scored a team-leading 14 points and added 10 rebounds to pace five SJU players in double figures. Alex Schmitt added 13 points, while Jack Wittenborg popped in 11 points and Patrick Butcher and Joe Risinger each finished with 10.

The Cardinals return to action on Monday, when they entertain St. Olaf in a 7:30 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym.