WINONA, Minn. — For the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against St. Olaf proved to be a case of bad timing.
 
The Cardinals picked the wrong time to struggle from the field, as St. Olaf took advantage of Saint Mary's icy shooting touch in pull away for an 81-50 victory at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Saint Mary's scored two of the game's first four field goals—3-pointers by Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) and Ronnie Ortiz (Dayton, Ohio)—as the Cardinals held an early 6-5 advantage.
 
From there, however, the Oles took control, taking the lead for good, 7-6, and racing to a 44-27 advantage at the break.
 
The Cardinals, who shot 31 percent from the field in the first half—hitting 8 of 26 field-goal attempts—whittled away at the Oles' halftime cushion, cutting the deficit to nine, 53-44, with 12 minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Unfortunately, over those final 12 minutes, St. Olaf outscored the Cardinals 28-6 to seal the conference win—St. Olaf's fifth in six MIAC contests.
 
Ferron led the way for the Cardinals, scoring 10 points and adding a team-best eight rebounds, while Ortiz chipped in eight points. The Cardinals finished 14-for-53 from the field (26 percent), while going 17 of 22 from the free throw line.
 
Riley Aiekens led a trio of Oles in double figures with 17, with Sterling Nielsen and Justin Pahl chipping in 15 and 14 points, respectively. The Oles were 32-for-59 from the field (54 percent)—draining 6 of 15 3-pointers—while also going 11-for-15 from the free throw line.
 
The Cardinals (1-5 MIAC, 2-7 overall) are back in action on Saturday, when they host Gustavus in a 3 p.m. conference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.

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