WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about Friday evening, as the Cardinals kicked off their 2015-16 season in impressive fashion, pulling away late in handing Crossroads College an 83-66 nonconference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
The Cardinals employed a great rookie-veteran 1-2 punch in downing the Knights, as
Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) and
Kai Endahl Mendota Heights, Minn.)—playing in their first game in a Saint Mary's uniform—along with seniors
Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis.) and
Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn.) all scored in double figures in fueling the season-opening win.
Smith-Pugh scored a game-high 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting and a 5-for-8 effort from the free throw line, while Kaiser chipped in 14 points, and Schumacher and Endahl added 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Cardinals—who shot 55 percent from the field (29-for-53) and added six 3-pointers.
Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) also had a big night for Saint Mary's, scoring eight points and hauling in 13 rebounds—including 12 on the defensive end.
The Cardinals led from start to finish, building leads as big as 10, 20-10, in the first half, before settling for an eight-point, 39-31 cushion at the break.
The Cardinals equaled that 10-point advantage twice early in the second half—the last time at 48-38, but the Knights decided to make things interesting, using a 27-18 run to cut the Saint Mary's lead to one, 66-65 with 3:50 remaining in regulation.
Unfazed by the Crossroads' burst, the Cardinals promptly outscored the visiting Knights 17-1 down the stretch to seal the win.
Brandon LeGree finished with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Cyrell Hodges and Steven Horan each chipped in 10 points in the losing effort for Crossroads (0-3 overall).
The Cardinals (1-0 overall) play a pair of road exhibition games over the next week, traveling to Omaha, Neb., for 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.
