WINONA, Minn.  — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team steps out of conference play one last time before the Christmas holiday on Saturday, hosting Viterbo in a 3 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-3 Overall) vs. Viterbo V-Hawks (8-6 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: Eighth-ranked St. Thomas used a 12-0 run to start the second half to pull away and hand the Cardinals a 75-43 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback on Dec. 10 at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
• Viterbo: The V-Hawks went 1-1 at the JustAGame Winter Classic Wednesday and Thursday in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., falling to Ashford 73-67, before beating Lawrence 74-55 a day later | Ashford Recap * Lawrence Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Viterbo—Their Last Meeting:
• November 20, 2013: Saint Mary's, with just one returning starter in the lineup—and facing an opponent that already had five games under its belt—struggled to find its shooting touch early. And the Cardinals could never fully recover. Viterbo raced out to an 11-1 lead, boasted a 30-19 advantage at the half, and cruised to a 65-48 win over Saint Mary's in the Cardinals' nonconference season-opener at R.W. Beggs Senior Gymnasium in La Crosse, Wis. | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off until Dec. 30, when they travel to Chicago, Ill., for a 4 p.m. nonconference game against North Park.
• Viterbo: The V-Hawks do not return to action until Jan. 7, when they host Mayville State in a 7 p.m. contest at R.W. Beggs Senior Gymnasium in La Crosse, Wis.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
The Cardinals' Dec. 10 MIAC game against nationally ranked St. Thomas was their first road game of the season. Saint Mary's will play three of its next four games on the road—the lone exception, Saturday's nonconference game vs. Viterbo. … Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) scored a team-high eight points in the Cardinals' loss to nationally ranked St. Thomas, while Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) chipped in seven points. … Nick Ogren (Stillwater, Minn.) scored a team- and career-high 11 points in Saint Mary's loss to Bethel on Dec. 8—the freshman was a perfect 3-for-3 from the 3-point line en route to his best offensive output as a Cardinal. … Like Ogren, Jake Rhyner (Apple Valley, Minn.) knocked down three 3-pointers en route to his collegiate-best 11-point effort vs. Hamline on Dec. 3. … Ronnie Ortiz (Dayton, Ohio), who tossed in a season-high 15 points to pace the Cardinals against Augsburg on Dec. 6, has scored in double figures in three of Saint Mary's four games this season. … Swiggum has hauled in a season-high seven twice this season. …  Saint Mary's has put three players in double figures in two of their first four games this season. … Ortiz heads into Saturday's nonconference matchup vs. Viterbo averaging 11.3 ppg, while Swiggum is second at 8.8 ppg. … Swiggum, an honorable-mention All-MIAC selection in a year ago—and the team-leader in both scoring average (12.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg)—has a team-high 22 rebounds (5.5 rpg) through four games. … Saint Mary's, which drained 113 3-pointers last season, heads into Saturday's game vs. Viterbo with 24 treys. … Ogren and Ortiz share the team lead in 3-pointers with six each. … The Cardinals' 70-67 win over Hamline snapped their eight-game losing streak vs. the Pipers, dating back to a 98-77 win on Feb. 10, 2010. … Saint Mary's win over Hamline was also the Cardinals' first season-opening victory since beating Crown 78-57 to kick off the 2010-11 season.
 
Scouting The Viterbo V-Hawks:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight road game for the V-Hawks, who squared off against Ashford and Lawrence as part of the JustAGame Winter Classic on Wednesday and Thursday. … With their 1-1 showing at the JustAGame Winter Classic, the V-Hawks are now 5-2 in their last seven games. …  Viterbo has scored 70 or more points in seven of its eight wins—including a season-high 91-point effort in a 91-81 win over Judson on Nov. 18. … Viterbo enters Saturday's nonconference game against Saint Mary's boasting two players—David Shepard and Alex Diciaula—who are averaging in double figures. Shepard owns a team-leading 18.2 ppg scoring average, while Diciaula is close behind at 14.5 ppg. … Shepard also owns a team-best 129 rebounds (9.2 rpg) and has five double-doubles. … Shepard netted a season-high 30 points against UW-Stout on Nov. 19, and has scored 20 or more points in six of Viterbo's 14 games. … Viterbo is hitting 40 percent of its 3-pointers (120-for-296), with Diciaula draining a team-high 38 treys. … Viterbo is 4-3 on its home court—and 4-3 on the road.