COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) carried the hot hand for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team Wednesday evening, as the Cardinal junior poured in a team-high 22 points—one point shy of his season high.
 
Unfortunately, Swiggum's individual effort was not enough to carry the Cardinals, as Saint John's—sparked by a 26-7 second-half run—pulled way to hand Saint Mary's a 93-74 setback at Sexton Arena.
 
The Cardinals, who trailed by seven, 38-31, at the half, knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to open the second half—cutting the deficit to four, 41-37.
 
From there, however, the Johnnies found their shooting touch, outscoring Saint Mary's 26-7 over a seven-minute stretch to transform that four-point lead into a 23-point, 67-44 advantage.
 
Along with Swiggum's 22 points—which including a 4 of 6 effort from behind the 3-point line—the Cardinals also got 11 points from Nick Ogren (Stillwater, Minn.), who went 4-for-5 from the field, including 3 of 4 from behind the arc.
 
Mitchell Kucik led a trio of Johnnies (5-2 MIAC, 7-5 overall) in double figures with 21 points, while Alex Schmitt added 14 and Joe Risinger finished with 12.
 
The Cardinals are back in action—and back on the road—on Saturday, heading to Macalester's Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference showdown with the Scots.