WINONA, Minn. — Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) scored a career-high 22 points for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't enough for the Cardinals to fight off Viterbo University. The V-Hawks won the nonconference contest 82-73 at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Viterbo jumped out to an early lead, but the Cardinals were able to chip away at it and tied the game 34-34 with just over four minutes remaining in the first half. Saint Mary's held a 44-40 advantage heading into intermission.
 
The Cardinals kept that lead until Viterbo was able to tie it back up at 53-53 with 13:45 remaining in the second half. A 3-pointer by Viterbo's David Shepard at 12:20 remaining gave the V-Hawks a lead they held for the rest of the game.
 
Viterbo took advantage of 11 3-pointers in the contest.
 
The V-Hawks were led by Jake Bamke's 22 points, while Shepard scored 21. Teammate Alex Diciaula tossed in 18 points.
 
Besides Ferron's 22 points, the Cardinals also got double-digit scoring from Nick Ogren (Stillwater, Minn.), who chipped in 15, and Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn.), who added 14 points. Ronnie Ortiz (Dayton, Ohio) and Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) both finished with eight points.
 
The Cardinals (1-4 overall) will play their next three games on the road—starting with a 4 p.m. nonconference game on Dec. 30 at North Park University.