WINONA, Minn. — After back-to-back road games, the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team closes out the week with a home game Saturday, as the Cardinals host Saint John's in a 3 p.m. MIAC game at the SMU Gym.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-10 MIAC | 2-14 Overall) vs. Saint John's (5-5 MIAC | 7-8 Overall)

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Last Action:
Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) led four players in double figures with a team-best 16 points, but Bethel was lights-out from the field in the first half, scoring 51 points en route to an 88-74 win over SMU Wednesday at Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn. … Saint John's picked up a huge conference win on Monday, when the Johnnies ended 10th-ranked St. Thomas' 19-game conference winning streak with a 77-69 victory in Collegeville, Minn.

SMU vs. Saint John's — Earlier This Year:
December 7, 2013: SMU couldn't rebound from a slow start, 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.

SMU vs. Saint John's — A Year Ago:
January 14, 2013: Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) and Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) each scored 10 points and Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn.) chipped in nine, but it was not enough, as Saint John's pulled out to a 34-16 halftime advantage and never looked back in handing the Cardinals a 63-46 MIAC setback at the SMU Gym.
February 13, 2013: SMU got off to a slow start, surrendering the game's first seven points, and the Cardinals never recovered in falling to Saint John's 77-50 in an MIAC game at Sexton Arena in Collegeville, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are back on the road next Wednesday, as SMU heads to Skoglund Center on the campus of St. Olaf for a 7:30 p.m. conference game against the Oles. … Saint John's returns home to Sexton Arena on Wednesday, as the Johnnies entertain Hamline in a 7:30 p.m. MIAC game in Collegeville, Minn.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
After two straight road games, the Cardinals are back at home on Saturday against Saint John's. … Saturday's game against the Johnnies is the seventh game in a 15-day span for the Cardinals. … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) led the team in scoring for the second straight game Wednesday, scoring 16 points against Bethel. The sophomore had posted an 18-point effort against Augsburg on Monday. … Swiggum's 18-point effort against the Auggies last Monday equaled his season high. He also scored 18 points against Crown on Nov. 23. … Swiggum was one of four SMU players to score in double figures against the Auggies — Bakari Collins (Kenosha, Wis. / 14 points), Johnny Spillane (West St. Paul, Minn. / 11 points) and Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn. / 10 points) were the other three. … Collins' 14 points were all scored in the second half. … Collins' 14-point night and Spillane's 11-point effort were career highs. … Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) owns the Cardinals' top individual single-game performance this season, scoring a game-, season- and career-best 29 points 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 scored 20 or more points twice this season, having netted 21 points against Saint John's on Dec. 7. … The Cardinals boast seven players who have recorded career-high games of 10 or more points this season — Pederson (29 points), Ferron (18), Collins (14), Trent Vix (Rushford, Minn. / 13), Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn. / 13) and Spillane (11). … Swiggum, who enters Saturday's matchup with Saint John's leading the team in scoring average (11.6 ppg) and rebounds (119 / 7.4 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 also enters Saturday's game against Saint John's averaging in double figures at 10.1 ppg. … Pederson leads the team with 63 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. … As a team, SMU has recorded 68 3-pointers this season — including a season-high 10 against both Bethel Wednesday and Carleton on Jan. 13. … Vix is the team's 3-point leader with 20, followed by Pederson (13), Swiggum (11) and Collins (10). … The 74 points against Bethel Wednesday was SMU's second-high offensive performance of the season — SMU netted a season-best 88 in an 86-81 overtime win over Crown on Nov. 23. … 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. … 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.

Scouting The Saint John's Johnnies:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
With their 77-69 win over 10th-ranked St. Thomas, the Johnnies picked up their second straight win. … SJU's 64-56 victory over Carleton on Jan. 18 to kick off their current two-game run also snapped the Johnnies' three-game losing streak. … The Johnnies have lost three straight on two separate occasions this season, while SJU has not won more than two in a row all year. … Patrick Butcher scored a team-high 20 points vs. UST — including 18 in the first half. … Three other Johnnies — Seth Marx (16), Blake Masionkowski (10) and Alex Schmitt (10)  — also scored in double figures vs. the Tommies. … Butcher's 20-point effort against UST marked the seventh time this season the Johnnies have boasted a player scoring 20 or more points. … Butcher owns two of those seven 20-point performances — including a season-high 30 points against UW-River Falls on Nov. 26 — while Schmitt has enjoyed games of 23, 22, 22 and 21 points, and Marx has scored 21. … The Johnnies head into Saturday's game against Saint Mary's sporting three players averaging in double figures — Schmitt (12.4 ppg), Butcher (11.4 ppg) and Marx (10.4 ppg). … Masionkowski is the team's rebound leader with 92 (6.1 rpg), while Kevin McKenzie owns the team-lead in assists with 56. … SJU has knocked down 89 3-pointers this season, led by Butcher with 23 and Schmitt with 21. … Butcher is the league's most accurate 3-point shooter, hitting on 51 percent of his treys (23-for-45), while Masionkowski is the MIAC leader in field goal percentage at 68 percent (60-for-88). … Saint John's, which is averaging 70.8 ppg, has scored 70 or more points in eight of its 15 games this season — including a season-high 93-point effort in a 93-83 win over St. Scholastica on Nov. 17. … The Johnnies head to Saint Mary's Saturday having won just once in seven road games (1-6), while going 6-2 on their home court. … Thanks to its Monday win, SJU is now 3-2 in its last five meetings with the Tommies, after having lost 10 straight vs. UST from 2007-11.