WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team kicks off its season on Friday, as the Cardinals entertain Crossroads College in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0-0 Overall) vs. Crossroads Knights (0-2-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: Friday's game against Crossroads is the season-opener for the Cardinals.
• Crossroads: The Knights suffered their second straight setback to open the season, falling to Viterbo 89-61 last Wednesday in La Crosse, Wis. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Crossroads—Their Last Meeting:
• Friday's game between the Cardinals and Knights is the first in program history.
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals play a pair of road exhibition games over the next week, traveling to Omaha, Neb., for a a 4 p.m. matchup against Nebraska-Omaha on Sunday, before heading to Sioux Falls, S.D., for a 7 p.m. contest against the University of Sioux Falls on Thursday.
• Crossroads: The Knights hit the road on Sunday, traveling to Grinnell, Iowa, for a 6 p.m. nonconference game against Grinnell.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2014-15 Final Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) closed out the season as the team's offensive leader a year ago, averaging 10.9 ppg, while Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn.) was second at 9.4 ppg. … Schumacher closed out the season scoring in double figures in five of the team's last eight games—including a career-high 20-point effort against Illinois Institute of Technology on Feb. 2. … Swiggum equaled his career high with 24 points against Martin Luther on Jan. 26, while Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis.) chipped in a career-best 22 points. The efforts by Swiggum and Kaiser marked the first time the Cardinals had two 20-point scorers in a game since Jan. 21, 2013. … Swiggum's 24-point effort vs. Martin Luther marked the third time he eclipsed the 20-point barrier—the then-junior netted 22 points vs. Saint John's on Jan. 14 and 23 against Crown on Jan. 5. … Swiggum owns six games of 20 or more points in his three years as a Cardinal. … Saint Mary's had five players who scored 20 or more points last season. … Swiggum notched his first double-double of the season—and eighth of his collegiate career—with 13 points and 11 rebounds against Macalester on Jan. 17. … Ferron missed out on his second collegiate double-double by one assist vs. Crown on Jan. 5, finishing with a career-high nine helpers. … Swiggum's 11 boards vs. St. Olaf on Feb. 9 and Macalester on Jan. 17 were not only a season high, but also just three shy of his collegiate best. … Swiggum owned a team-best 147 rebounds (6.0 rpg) a year ago, while Schumacher also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau, boasting 119 boards. … Kaiser drained a season- and career-high four 3-pointers—going a perfect 4-for-4—en route to his team-best 19 points against Saint John's on Feb. 11. … As a team, Saint Mary's netted 134 3-pointers this season, including a season-high 10 treys in a game twice—vs. Saint John's on Feb. 11 and vs. North Park on Dec. 30. … The Cardinals' 83 points in their 83-73 win over Martin Luther on Jan. 26 were a season high—two more than the 81 they scored in their 81-64 nonconference win over Crown on Jan. 5. … Saint Mary's, which averaged 59.6 ppg, netted 70 or more points in a game seven times a year ago. … Swiggum led five Cardinal players in double figures vs. Crown on Jan. 5—marking the second straight meeting with the Storm that Saint Mary's boasted five double-figure scorers.
 
Scouting The Crossroads Knights:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Crossroads—playing the third of nine straight road games to open the season—is still searching for its first win of 2015-16. The Knights dropped a 92-57 decision to Jamestown on Oct. 30, before falling to Viterbo 89-61 last Wednesday. … Todd James scored a team-high 17 points, while Steven Horan added 14, in the Knights' loss to Viterbo last Wednesday. … Horan has now led the team in scoring in each of its first two games and enters Friday's game at Saint Mary's averaging a team-best 13.5 ppg. … James is also averaging in double figures (10.5 ppg). … Six of Horan's eight field goals this season have been 3-pointers. Horan is shooting 60 percent (6-for-10) from behind the arc. … Isaac Rowles has hauled in a team-leading 12 rebounds in the Knights' first two games (6.0 rpg), and also owns a team-best five blocked shots. … As a team, Crossroads is averaging 59.0 ppg, while the Knights' first two opponents are scoring at a 90.5 ppg clip. … Crossroads has been outscored 181-118—including 82-52 in the game's final 20 minutes. …