WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball coach Jamison Rusthoven would have loved an early Christmas present Saturday afternoon—the gift of just a little more time.
 
Saint Mary's rallied from a 24-point second-half deficit, but its late rally came up short, as Simpson held off Saint Mary's 84-72 in a nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Cardinals found themselves staring at a 65-41 deficit midway through the second half, as Simpson outscored Saint Mary's 25-12 to open the game's final 20 minutes.
 
Down, but far from out, the Cardinals began digging their way out of that 24-point hole, cutting the deficit to 10, 76-66, with 1:40 remaining in regulation.
 
Unfortunately, without that early Christmas present, that was a close as the Cardinals would get, as Simpson knocked down eight straight free throws down the stretch to escape with the 12-point win.
 
Both teams took turns playing with the lead in the game's opening 20 minutes, as Saint Mary's held leads as big as five early on, while Simpson outscored the Cardinals 11-3 over the final five minutes to take an 11-point, 40-29 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals, scoring a team-high 18 points—one shy of his career high. The junior went 7-for-13 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers, while adding a 2-for-4 effort from the free throw line. Charlie Tayson (Prescott, Wis.) and Kai Endahl (Mendota Heights, Minn.) each chipped in eight points, with Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) adding six points and a team- and game-high 11 rebounds.
 
Saint Mary's shot 40 percent from the field, going 24-for-60—including 16-for-32 over the game's final 20 minutes—and adding a 9 of 27 effort from the 3-point line.
 
Ryan Skaar netted a game-high 19 points to lead three Storm players in double figures. Sam Amsbaugh finished with 14 points and Dillon Gretzky added 10 for Simpson, which shot 44 percent from the field (28-for-63) and was 21 of 30 from the free throw line.
 
The Cardinals (4-4 overall) are now off until Jan. 2, when they head to Collegeville, Minn.) for 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with Saint John's.