WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team steps out of conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals host Simpson in a 3 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-3 Overall) vs. Simpson Storm (4-3 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: Carleton shot a blistering 52 percent from the field—and knocked down eight of their 14 3-point attempts—in handing the Cardinals a 71-48 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback Wednesday evening at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Simpson: The Storm surrendered 51 first-half points and could not make up the deficit over the game's final 20 minutes, as Simpson dropped an 81-71 exhibition decision to NCAA Division I Nebraska-Omaha Wednesday in Omaha, Neb. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Simpson—Their Last Meeting:
• The Cardinals and Storm have not met since the 1965-66 season, when Saint Mary's came away with a 70-57 nonconference victory.
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off until Jan. 2, when they travel to Collegeville, Minn., for a 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Saint John's.
• Simpson: The Storm are right back in action on Monday, hosting Monmouth (Ill.) in a 7 p.m. nonconference game in Indianola, Iowa.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• The Cardinals close out the 2015 portion of their schedule with their fourth straight home game Saturday against Simpson. … Wednesday's loss to Carleton snapped the Cardinals' two-game winning streak. It was also Saint Mary's first loss on its home court this season, dropping the Cardinals to 3-1 at the Saint Mary's Gym. … Saint Mary's 68-65 victory over Augsburg on Dec. 9 was its fourth of the season—equaling the win total from a year ago. … The Cardinals snapped an 11-game losing streak against the Auggies with their Dec. 9 68-65 victory. … Saint Mary's has scored 80 or more points in three of its four wins this season—including a season-high 85-point effort in its 85-70 win over Macalester on Dec. 5. … The Cardinals' 85 points vs. the Scots marked the highest offensive output since Saint Mary's tossed in 87 in an 87-80 victory over Macalester on Dec. 4, 2010. … Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) scored a team-high 10 points for the Cardinals against Carleton Wednesday, going 4-for-7 from the field and adding a pair of free throws. … The Cardinals have now had a different player lead them in scoring in each of their last four games. … Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis.) and Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) each chipped in eight points vs. the Knights Wednesday, while Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) tallied six points and a team-best nine rebounds. … Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) scored a game- and career-high 20 points against Augsburg on Dec. 9. It was the Cardinals' third 20-point effort of the season—Kaiser owns the other two. … Kaiser's nine-point effort against Carleton marked the first time this season the senior has not scored at least 10 points. … Kaiser scored a career high-tying 22 points against Martin Luther on Nov. 24. Kaiser's 22-point showing vs. the Knights on Nov. 24 marked the second time in as many meetings with Martin Luther that the Cardinal senior has scored a career-best 22 points. … Smith-Pugh scored a career-high 19 points against Macalester on Dec. 5. … Kaiser and Smith-Pugh head into Saturday's nonconference game against Simpson averaging in double figures at 15.0 ppg and 10.9 ppg, respectively. … Swiggum scored 10 points and hauled in a career-high 16 rebounds against Martin Luther on Nov. 24 for his first double-double of the season and ninth of his collegiate career. … Swiggum has hauled in a team-leading 57 rebounds (8.1 rpg) through the team's first seven games—including 13 against Crossroads on Nov. 13 and 16 vs. Martin Luther on Nov. 24. … Swiggum is averaging 8.3 ppg and owns six games of 20 or more points in his collegiate career. … The Cardinals knocked down a season-high 10 3-pointers against Augsburg on Dec. 9—including seven in the second half. Saint Mary's made a season-high 10 treys twice a year ago. … Kaiser—who finished with a season-high four 3-pointers against Augsburg on Dec. 9—has recorded a team-leading 13 3-pointers, while Smith-Pugh leads the team in assists with 19, three more than Braden Walbeck (Fall Creek, Wis.). … Saint Mary's drained a season-high 22 free throws against Macalester on Dec. 5. … Saint Mary's has outscored its first seven opponents 489-486—including 258-238 over the game's final 20 minutes. … Saint Mary's boasted a season-high five players in double figures against Macalester on Dec. 5.
 
Scouting The Simpson Storm:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight road game for the Storm. … Simpson had its three-game winning streak snapped with a 75-67 setback at Waldorf on Dec. 2. … After opening the season 1-2, the Storm are 3-1 in their last four. … Last Wednesday's 81-71 exhibition loss to the University of Nebraska-Omaha was Simpson's second exhibition game of the season—the Storm also fell to Drake 92-52 on Nov. 13. … Ryan Skaar led a trio of Storm players in double figures against Nebraska-Omaha Wednesday, netting 18 points, while Sam Amsbaugh and Jamie Montgomery chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively. … Simpson heads into Saturday's game against Saint Mary's boasting three players—Dillon Gretzky (15.4 ppg), Amsbaugh (12.3 ppg), and Skaar (10.0 ppg)—averaging in double figures. … Gretzky has also hauled in a team-high 48 rebounds (6.9 rpg) through seven games. … Austin Turner owns a team-leading 35 assists, while sharing the team lead in steals (11) with Amsbaugh. … Simpson has knocked down 66 3-pointers this season, led by Skaar with 15 and Montgomery with 10. … The Storm have scored 80 or more points in two of their four wins—including a season-high 103-point outburst in a 103-80 win over Grinnell on Nov. 24. … Simpson boasted two players with 20 or more points in its win over Grinnell—Amsbaugh tossed in 23 points and added 11 rebounds, while Gretzky chipped in 20 points. … Saint Mary's is Simpson's third opponent from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference—the Storm fell to Augsburg 80-74 on Nov. 20, then dropped a 71-62 decision to Gustavus a day later.