ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Gustavus for a 3 p.m. MIAC contest against the Gusties.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-15 MIAC | 3-19 Overall) at Gustavus Gusties (12-6 MIAC | 15-8 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals have been off since last Saturday, when St. Thomas outscored SMU 42-28 in the first half and never looked back, handing Saint Mary's a 92-59 conference setback at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn. … Gustavus scored the game's final eight points to rally for a 68-64 MIAC win over Bethel Wednesday in Arden Hills, Minn.

SMU vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
January 2, 2013: Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) and Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) each scored in double figures, as SMU gave Gustavus all it could handle for the first 28 minutes. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, those final 12 minutes proved disastrous, as Gustavus scored 32 of the game's final 43 points to pull away for a 75-56 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the SMU Gym.
January 30, 2013: For the second straight meeting with the Gusties, Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) and Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) each scored in double figures — Pederson netting 13 points and Burfeind 10 — but the Cardinals could not match Gustavus' torrid shooting from the outside, as GAC knocked down nine 3-pointers en route to an 82-43 MIAC victory over SMU at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals play their final road game of the season on Wednesday, as SMU heads to St. Paul, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. conference showdown with Hamline. … Gustavus closes out its regular season on Wednesday, as the Gusties host nationally ranked and league-leading St. Thomas in a 7:30 p.m. contest in St. Peter, Minn.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
SMU's game at Gustavus on Saturday is the second of three straight road games for the Cardinals, who do not return home until Feb. 22, when SMU hosts Augsburg in the teams' regular-season finale. … Ronnie Ortiz (Dayton, Ohio) scored a team-high 14 points and Bakari Collins (Kenosha, Wis.) chipped in 11 points vs. the Tommies last Saturday. … Ortiz became the third different player to lead the team in scoring in SMU's last three games. … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) recorded his fourth double-double of the season — and seventh of his collegiate career — with 18 points and 13 rebounds against Macalester on Feb. 3. … Swiggum's 18 points equaled his season high, a feat he also accomplished against Crown and Gustavus earlier this season. … Swiggum's 13 rebounds were also one shy of his career high. … Swiggum enters Saturday's game at Gustavus leading the team in scoring (11.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg). … Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) also enters Saturday's matchup at Gustavus averaging in double figures at 10.2 ppg. … Pederson, who recorded a school-record 11-assist performance against Macalester on Feb. 3, enters the Gustavus game with a single-season career-high 96 assists. … Pederson owns the team's top two individual scoring performances this season — scoring a game-, season- and career-best 29 points against Macalester on Jan. 2, while netting 21 against Saint John's on Dec. 7. …  Pederson's 29-point performance vs. Macalester was the highest single-game outing 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), Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn. / 19), Ortiz (18), Collins (14), Trent Vix (Rushford, Minn. / 13), Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn. / 13) and Johnny Spillane (West St. Paul, Minn. / 11). … As a team, SMU has recorded 102 3-pointers this season — including a season-high 10 against both Carleton on Jan. 13 and Bethel on Jan. 22. … Vix is the team's 3-point leader with 25, followed by Pederson (16) and Swiggum (14). … Fueled by Pederson's 11 assists, the Cardinals set a school record with 25 assists vs. Macalester on Feb. 3. … The Cardinals' 79 points against Macalester on Feb. 3 marked their second-highest offensive performance of the season — SMU netted a season-best 86 in an 86-81 overtime win over Crown on Nov. 23. … SMU's 31-point win over the Scots was its largest margin of victory since beating Cal-Tech 87-37 on Dec. 18, 2003 and the largest against an MIAC team since dropping Saint John's 94-57 during the 1957-58 season. … With their 79-48 win over Macalester on Feb. 3, the Cardinals completed their two-game conference sweep of the Scots. SMU gave coach Jamison Rusthoven his first MIAC coaching win with its 67-51 win over Macalester in their first meeting on Jan. 2. … 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 86-81 OT win over Crown on Nov. 23 was coach Rusthoven's first collegiate head coaching victory.

Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
With their win on Wednesday over Bethel, the Gusties locked up a berth in the six-team MIAC post-season tournament. … Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of two straight home games for the Gusties to close out the regular season — GAC also hosts St. Thomas on Wednesday. … Wednesday's win over Bethel was the Gusties' third straight. GAC has now sandwiched a pair of three-game winning streaks around a three-game losing streak in its last nine contests. … Jordan Dick scored a team-high 13 points against Bethel Wednesday, while Martin Feddersen and Brody Ziegler chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively. … Gustavus has now had a different leading scorer in each of its last three games. … The Gusties enter Saturday's game vs. Saint Mary's boasting three players averaging in double figures — Dick (11.8 ppg), Isaac Tapp (11.5 ppg) and Ziegler (10.9 ppg). … Ziegler also owns a team-best 119 rebounds (5.2 rpg). … Dick scored a single-game season-high 21 points against Hamline on Dec. 4. It was one of five times this season the Gusties have boasted a player scoring 20 or more points in a game. … Gustavus has drained 117 3-pointers this season, led by Dick's 51. … As a team, Gustavus — which is averaging 67.5 ppg — has scored 80 or more points five times this season, including a season-high 83-point effort against Simpson on Nov. 15. … The Gusties have compiled a 7-4 record on their home court, while going 8-4 on the road this season.