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WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team was red-hot in the game's opening 20 minutes Saturday afternoon, as the Cardinals shot 54 percent from the field — knocking down 13 of 24 field goal attempts — and had Gustavus on the ropes through 20 minutes.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Gusties came out swinging in the second half, missing just eight of their 27 second-half field goal attempts, as GAC outscored SMU 46-29 over the game's final 20 minutes to secure an 80-61 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the SMU Gym.

The Gusties raced out to a 9-2 lead in the game's opening three minutes, but the Cardinals battled back, and over the final 17 minutes, there were four lead changes and the game was tied on three other occasions.

SMU drained 13 of its 24 first-half field goals — including a 2-for-3 showing from the 3-point line. But as hot as the Cardinals were from the field, GAC was equally as hot, going 15-for-27 from the field (56 percent) and taking a two-point, 34-32 advantage into the locker room at the break.

A 12-4 run to open the second half pushed the Gusties' lead to 10, 46-36, and GAC never looked back, padding their lead to as many as 22, before settling for the 19-point victory.

Evan Pederson scored a team-high 11 points for the Cardinals, while Ronnie Ortiz (Dayton, Ohio) finished with eight points and Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) chipped in nine points and eight rebounds.

Brody Ziegler scored a team- and game-high 19 points to lead five Gusties in double figures. GAC finished the game shooting 63 percent from the field (34-for-54) in improving to 7-3 in conference play and 10-5 overall.

The Cardinals (1-8 MIAC, 2-12 overall) are back in action on Monday, as the Cardinals head to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg for a 7:45 MIAC game against the Auggies.