WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team is back on its home court for a second straight game on Saturday, as the Cardinals host Gustavus in a 3 p.m. conference contest at the SMU Gym.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-7 MIAC | 2-11 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (6-3 MIAC | 9-5 Overall)

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Last Action:
Ronnie Ortiz (Dayton, Ohio) scored a team-high 14 points and Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) added 13, but Hamline scored the game's final seven points in handing SMU a 69-65 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback Wednesday at the SMU Gym. … Gustavus could not keep pace with league-leading St. Thomas down the stretch, as the Tommies outlasted the Gusties 61-50 at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn.

SMU vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
January 2, 2013: Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) and Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) each scored in double figures, as SMU gave Gustavus all it could handle for the first 28 minutes. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, those final 12 minutes proved disastrous, as Gustavus scored 32 of the game's final 43 points to pull away for a 75-56 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the SMU Gym.
January 30, 2013: For the second straight meeting with the Gusties, Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) and Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) each scored in double figures — Pederson netting 13 points and Burfeind 10 — but the Cardinals could not match Gustavus' torrid shooting from the outside, as GAC knocked down nine 3-pointers en route to an 82-43 MIAC victory over SMU at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals take to the road on Monday, as SMU travels to Minneapolis, Minn., for a 7:45 p.m. conference game against Augsburg. … Gustavus does not play again until Wednesday, when the Gusties host Hamline in a 7:30 p.m. MIAC contest at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Saturday's game against Gustavus is the second straight home game for the Cardinals, who have posted both of their wins at the SMU Gym. … For the second game in a row, Ronnie Ortiz (Dayton, Ohio) led the Cardinals in scoring against Hamline Wednesday. Just two days after pouring in a team- and career-high 18 points, Ortiz tossed in a team-best 14 against the Pipers on Wednesday. … Ortiz's showing vs. Hamline snapped a streak of four straight games with a different leading scorer for the Cardinals. … Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) chipped in 13 points against Hamline Wednesday. … Pederson owns the Cardinals' top individual single-game performance this season, scoring a game-, season- and career-best 29 opints against Macalester on Jan. 2. … Pederson's 29-point effort vs. Macalester was the highest single-game performance since Michael Burfeind scored 38 points against Concordia on Dec. 7, 2011. … Pederson has now scored 20 or more points twice this season, having netted 21 points against Saint John's on Dec. 7. … Trent Vix (Rushford, Minn.), who leads the Cardinals with 17 3-pointers, netted a career-high 13 points in SMU's showdown with Carleton last Monday. … Pederson and Vix are two of six Cardinals who have recorded career-high games of 10 or more points this season. Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.), Bakari Collins (Kenosha, Wis.), Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) and Johnny Spillane (West St. Paul, Minn.) have also put together career-high performances. Ferron tallied 18 points against Bethel on Dec. 10, Collins hit for 14 against Bethel on Dec. 14, Romportl scored 13 against Crown on Nov. 23, and Spillane finished with 10 against Macalester on Jan. 2. … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.), who enters Saturday's showdown with Gustavus boasting a team-leading 11.0 ppg scoring average — while also leading the team in rebounds with 102 (7.8 rpg) — owns three of SMU's four double-doubles this season and six double-doubles over his two-year collegiate career. …  Ferron accounted for SMU's other double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds vs. Crown on Nov. 23. … Swiggum equaled his career high with 14 rebounds against Bethany Lutheran on Dec. 11. … Pederson and Ortiz also enter Saturday's game with GAC averaging in double figures at 10.1 ppg and 10.0 ppg, respectively. … Pederson leads the team with 59 assists. … Pederson 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. … After tossing in a season-high 10 3-pointers against Carleton on Monday, SMU was held to just three treys vs. Hamline on Wednesday. … As a team, SMU has recorded 59 3-pointers this season. … SMU's 67-51 win over Macalester on Jan. 2 was Jamison Rusthoven's first MIAC win as SMU's head coach. Rusthoven earned his first collegiate head coaching victory on Nov. 23, when the Cardinals dropped Crown 86-81 in overtime. … SMU's 86-81 win against Crown was the Cardinals' 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of back-to-back road games for the Gusties. … With Wednesday's 61-50 loss to nationally ranked St. Thomas, the Gusties slipped to 2-2 in their last four games and 2-4 in their last six. … GAC was held to a season-low 50 points against the Tommies Wednesday. The Gusties have now been held to 60 or fewer points in four of their five losses this season. … Gustavus has lost back-to-back games just once this season, while putting together winning streaks of three and four games. … Chad Poppen and Martin Feddersen each scored a career-high 13 points against the Tommies on Wednesday, while Feddersen also hauled in a team-leading 10 rebounds. … Feddersen's 13-point, 10-rebound performance was his second double-double of the season. … GAC has now had a different leading scorer in each of its last three games. … Gustavus enters Saturday's game at Saint Mary's boasting three players averaging in double figures — Brody Ziegler (12.0 ppg), Jordan Dick (12.0 ppg) and Isaac Tapp (11.5 ppg). … Dick owns the team's top single-game performance with 21 points against Hamline on Dec. 4. GAC has also had three 20-point scorers — Dick vs. Buena Vista on Nov. 16, Ziegler against Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 19 and Tapp vs. Augsburg on Dec. 9. … GAC has recorded 78 3-pointers through 14 games, led by Dick with 33, and Brian Jacobs and Chris Narum with 10 each. … Feddersen owns the team lead in assists (67) and steals (24). … Five of Gustavus' nine wins have come at home, where GAC is 5-2. The Gusties are 4-3 away from Gus Young Court.