ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team hits the road for the final time this season on Wednesday, as the Cardinals head to Hutton Arena for a 7:30 p.m. conference game against Hamline.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-16 MIAC | 3-20 Overall) at Hamline Pipers (5-13 MIAC | 8-15 Overall)

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Last Action:
Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) scored 23 points, but the Cardinals could not overcome a 14-point, 39-25 halftime deficit in falling to Gustavus 79-59 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play Saturday in St. Peter, Minn. … Hamline trailed at the half, 39-17, and couldn't get much going in the second half, shooting a season-low 31 percent from the field in falling to St. Olaf 88-37 in a conference game in Northfield, Minn.

SMU vs. Hamline — Earlier This Year:
January 15, 2014: Just two days after draining a team- and career-high 18 points against Carleton, SMU's Ronnie Ortiz (Dayton, Ohio) was at it again Wednesday evening, as the freshman led the Cardinals in scoring for the second straight game. Unfortunately, Ortiz's team-best 14-point effort was not enough, as Hamline used a game-ending 10-2 run — including the last seven points in regulation — as the Pipers held off SMU 69-65 at the SMU Gym.

SMU vs. Hamline — A Year Ago:
December 3, 2012: SMU matched Hamline nearly basket-for-basket over the game's final 20 minutes. Over the game's opening 20 minutes, however, the Cardinals could not keep pace with the Pipers, as Hamline scored the game's first nine points and never looked back in handing SMU an 82-58 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn.
January 21, 2013: Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) eclipsed the 20-point barrier for the second straight game — finishing with a game-high 23 points — and added 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Swiggum's effort — not to mention a 22-point showing from Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) and a 17-point performance by Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) — was not quite enough, however, as the Cardinals could not overcome a 14-point halftime deficit in falling to Hamline 94-78 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the SMU Gym.

Up Next:
The Cardinals close out their 2013-14 regular season on Saturday, as SMU hosts Augsburg in a 3 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym. … Hamline also closes out its regular-season schedule on Saturday, as the Pipers return to Hutton Arena on Saturday for a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown with Concordia.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Wednesday's game at Hamline is the third straight road contest for the Cardinals. …
Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) scored a season-high 23 points in the Cardinals' loss to Gustavus last Saturday. … With his team-leading 23-point effort vs. GAC, Swiggum became the fourth different player to lead the Cardinals in scoring in their last four games. … Swiggum 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 13 rebounds were one shy of his career high. … Swiggum enters Wednesday's game at Hamline leading the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg). … Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.), who chipped in 10 points against the Gusties last Saturday, also enters Wednesday's matchup at Hamline averaging in double figures at 10.2 ppg. … Pederson, who recorded a school-record 11-assist performance against Macalester on Feb. 3, enters the Hamline game with a single-season career-high 99 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 eight players who have recorded career-high games of 10 or more points this season — Pederson (29 points), Swiggum (23), 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 105 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 26, followed by Pederson (17) and Swiggum (15). … 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 Hamline Pipers:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home games to close out the regular season for the Pipers. … The Pipers were held to a season-low 37 points against St. Olaf last Saturday, while the Oles' 88 points marked the fifth time this season Hamline has surrendered 80 or more points. … Dior Ford scored a team-best nine points against St. Olaf last Saturday. It was just the second time in 23 games this season the Pipers have failed to record a double-figure scorer. … Ford enters Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's averaging a team-leading 16.9 ppg, while Austin Johnson is also averaging more than 10 points-per-game, coming in a 10.7 ppg. … Johnson owns the team's rebounding lead (155, 6.7 rpg), while Marshall Jestings owns a team-high 98 assists and 71 steals. … Hamline, which is averaging 64.4 ppg, has eclipsed the 80-point barrier twice, including a season-high 104 points against Otterbein on Dec. 29. … Five of Hamline's eight wins have come on the Pipers' home floor. HU is just 3-9 away from Hutton Arena.