NORTHFIELD, Minn. — For the third time in the last four games, the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team takes to the road Wednesday, as the Cardinals travel to Skoglund Center on the St. Olaf campus for a 7:30 p.m. MIAC game against the Oles.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-11 MIAC | 2-15 Overall) at St. Olaf Oles (10-2 MIAC | 13-4 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals took a three-point, 34-31 lead into the locker room at the half, but Saint John's responded by outscoring SMU 50-26 over the game's final 20 minutes in handing Saint Mary's an 81-60 MIAC setback Saturday at the SMU Gym. … St. Olaf got 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists from Connor Gunderson, as the Oles pulled away to beat Augsburg College 82-63 Saturday in a conference game at Skoglund Center in Northfield, Minn.

SMU vs. St. Olaf — Earlier This Year:
December 9, 2013: The Cardinals — who surrendered the game's first nine points in a 68-57 conference loss at Saint John's two days earlier — gave up the opening eight points against the Oles and couldn't make up the deficit in falling to St. Olaf 83-53 at the SMU Gym.

SMU vs. St. Olaf — A Year Ago:
November 28, 2012: It was the first MIAC game in the collegiate careers of Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn.) and Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) — and the duo certainly made it a memorable one. Schumacher scored a career-high 19 points, while Swiggum recorded his first collegiate double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the Cardinals' MIAC opener against St. Olaf at the SMU Gym. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the tandem's efforts were not enough, as St. Olaf surged to a 43-26 halftime advantage and handed SMU an 80-62 setback.
January 16, 2013: Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) tossed in a team-best 17 points in the Cardinals' 66-57 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over St. Olaf in Northfield, Minn. — but the senior forward certainly didn't do it alone. The Cardinals got double-figure scoring from four different players, and it was that balanced attack — and a 23-for-29 performance from the free throw line — that fueled SMU to its second conference win in the last three games.

Up Next:
The Cardinals step out of conference play for their final game before the Christmas break, as The Cardinals return home on Saturday, as SMU plays host to Concordia in a 3 p.m. MIAC matchup at the SMU Gym. … St. Olaf is also back in action on Saturday, as the Oles head to St. Peter, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference showdown with Gustavus.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) scored a team-high 19 points — including 13 in the first half — against Saint John's on Saturday. … Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) and Ronnie Ortiz (Dayton, Ohio) also scored in double figures vs. the Johnnies Saturday, finishing with 13 and 10 points, respectively. … Pederson now owns the team's top three individual scoring performances this season. … Pederson scored a game-, season- and career-best 29 points against Macalester on Jan. 2, while netting 21 against Saint John's in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 7. …  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. … The Cardinals boast seven players who have recorded career-high games of 10 or more points this season — Pederson (29 points), Ferron (18), Ortiz (18), Bakari Collins (Kenosha, Wis. / 14), Trent Vix (Rushford, Minn. / 13), Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn. / 13) and Johnny Spillane (West St. Paul, Minn. / 11). … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.), who has scored a season-high 18 points twice this year, enters Wednesday's game against St. Olaf leading the team in scoring (11.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg). … Swiggum 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 Wednesday's game against St. Olaf averaging in double figures at 10.6 ppg. … Pederson leads the team with 71 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 84 3-pointers this season — including a season-high 10 against both Bethel on Jan. 22) and Carleton on Jan. 13. … Vix is the team's 3-point leader with 21, followed by Swiggum (13), Pederson (12), Collins (10) and Ferron (10). … The Cardinals' 74 points against Bethel last Wednesday were their 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 St. Olaf Oles:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of back-to-back home games for the Oles, who play their next three contests on the road. … With its 82-63 win over Augsburg Saturday, St. Olaf pushed its winning streak to a season-high six straight — the Oles are also 9-1 in their last 10. … St. Olaf's 82-point effort against Augsburg marked the sixth time this season the Oles have scored 80 or more points in a game. The Oles netted a season-high 96 points against Macalester on Jan. 15. … Saturday's win over Augsburg push St. Olaf's record to a perfect 7-0 on its home court. … Connor Gunderson scored a team-high 26 points against the Auggies Saturday. … Gunderson has now led the team in scoring in each of the Oles' last four games — and 10 times this season. … The Oles have had a scorer eclipse the 20-point barrier six times — including a season-high 29-point effort by Justin Pahl against Gustavus on Jan. 4. … Gunderson and Sterling Nielsen enter Wednesday's game vs. Saint Mary's boasting team-leading 15.2 ppg and 11.2 ppg scoring averages, respectively. … Gunderson is shooting 65 percent from the field (103-for-159), ranking No. 3 in the MIAC. … Nielsen is also the team's assist leader with 64. … St. Olaf has recorded 100 3-pointers this season, led by Pahl with 32. … The Oles, who have outscored their opponents 1,248-1,020, are averaging 73.4 ppg, while holding the opposition to a 60.0 ppg scoring average.