SIOUX FALLS, S.D.  — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team is back on the road on Thursday, heading to the University of Sioux Falls for a 7 p.m. exhibition game against the NCAA Division II Cougars.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 Overall) at University of Sioux Falls Cougars (1-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals got 12 points from Quashingm Smith-Pugh last Sunday, but it was not enough firepower to match NCAA Division I Nebraska-Omaha, as the Mavericks handed Saint Mary's a 104-58 loss in an exhibition game in Omaha, Neb. | Recap
• University of Sioux Falls: The Cougars finished 1-1 at the season-opening NSIC-MIAA Challenge at Gross Memorial Arena in Hays, Kan., last weekend. USF opened with an 85-81 win over Emporia State last Saturday, before dropping a heartbreaking 62-60 decision to host Fort Hays a day later | Emporia Recap * Fort Hays Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. University of Sioux Falls—Their Last Meeting:
• Thursday's game between the Cardinals and Cougars is the first in program history.
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to nonconference action on Tuesday, heading to New Ulm, Minn., for a 7 p.m. showdown against Martin Luther.
• University of Sioux Falls: The Cougars are back on their home court on Saturday, hosting Waldorf in a 6 p.m. nonconference game at Stewart Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Thursday's game against the University of Sioux Falls is the second of back-to-back exhibition games for the Cardinals, who squared off against NCAA Division I Nebraska-Omaha last Sunday. … Thursday's matchup against the Cougars is the second of five straight road games for the Cardinals, who do not return home until Dec. 5, when they entertain Macalester in a 1 p.m. MIAC contest. … Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) has led the team in scoring in each of its two contests this season. Smith-Pugh knocked down 5 of 9 field goals and added a 5-for-8 showing from the free throw line en route to his game-high 15-point effort in the Cardinals' 83-66 season-opening win over Crossroads College last Friday. Smith-Pugh then poured in 12 points in the Cardinals' 104-58 exhibition loss to Nebraska-Omaha last Sunday. … Smith-Pugh was one of four Cardinals to score in double figures vs. Crossroads last Friday—Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis. / 14), Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn. / 13), and Kai Endahl (Mendota Heights, Minn. / 12) were the others. … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) recorded a team-best 13 rebounds vs. Crossroads—including 12 on the defensive end. … Swiggum's 13-rebound showing was just one shy of his collegiate best. … With his 13-point effort vs. Crossroads last Friday, Schumacher has now scored in double figures in six of the Cardinals' last nine games—including a career-high 20-point effort against Illinois Institute of Technology on Feb. 2, 2015. … Swiggum and Kaiser each had career nights against Martin Luther last season, as Swiggum equaled his career high with 24 points, while Kaiser 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 heads into Thursday's exhibition game vs. the University of Sioux Falls owning six games of 20 or more points in his collegiate career. … Saint Mary's had five players who scored 20 or more points last season. … Swiggum notched a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double against Macalester on Jan. 17, 2015—it was the eighth double-double of his collegiate career. … As a team, Saint Mary's netted 134 3-pointers last 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 against Crossroads last Friday equaled their highest offensive output of a year ago—an 83-73 win over Martin Luther on Jan. 26. … Saint Mary's netted 70 or more points in a game seven times a year ago.
 
Scouting The University of Sioux Falls Cougars:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Thursday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight home games for the Cougars—who are in the midst of playing seven of nine contests on their home court. … USF's first two games this season have been decided by a total of six points—a four-point win over Emporia State and a two-point loss to Fort Hays. … Mack Johnson has scored in double figures in both of the Cougars' games this season—including a team- and season-high 16-point effort against Fort Hays last Sunday. … Mack Johnson has now scored 10 or more points 26 times in his three-year collegiate career. … Daniel Hurtt has also scored in double figures in both USF games this season, netting a team-leading 15 vs. Emporia State, while adding 10 against Fort Hays. … Mack Johnson enters Thursday's matchup with Saint Mary's averaging a team-best 13.0 ppg, while Hurtt and Jordan Stotts are also averaging in double figures at 12.5 ppg and 10.5 ppg. … Kebu Johnson is the team's rebounding leader with 16 (8.0 ppg), one more than Hurtt (15 / 7.5 rpg). … Kebu Johnson has also accounted for 11 of the team's 28 assists. … USF holds a 72-71 scoring advantage in the opening half, while the Cougars have also outscored their opponents by one, 73-72, over the game's final 20 minutes. … The Cougars are beginning their fourth season as an NCAA Division II institution. … USF returns three starters from a year ago, when the Cougars finished 8-21 overall. … Prior to last weekend's NSIC-MIAA Challenge, USF played an exhibition game against NCAA Division I Iowa, falling to the Hawkeyes 99-73.