WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team finally returns home to the Saint Mary's Gym on Saturday, hosting Macalester in a 1 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1 MIAC | 2-2 Overall) vs. Macalester Scots (0-1 MIAC | 2-4 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals got double-figure scoring from both Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) and Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis.), but it was not enough, as Saint Mary's dropped its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener Wednesday, falling to Gustavus 69-57 in St. Peter, Minn. | Recap
• Macalester: Kareem Ismail scored a team-high 16 points, but the Scots were no match for Hamline Wednesday, as the Pipers dealt Macalester a 79-59 conference setback at Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—A Year Ago:
• January 17, 2015 * St. Paul, Minn.: Macalester rode the hot hand of Dylan Kilgour to a 73-59 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Saint Mary's at Leonard Center | Recap
• February 21, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Macalester heated up the Cardinals' home court, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game, and the Scots never relinquished the lead in handing Saint Mary's a 74-54 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback in the teams' season finale at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on their home court on Wednesday, hosting Augsburg in a 7 p.m. conference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Macalester: The Scots remain home on Wednesday, entertaining high-powered St. Thomas in a 7 p.m. MIAC match at Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• After five straight road games, the Cardinals play their next four contests on their home court. In its only home game thus far, Saint Mary's beat Crossroads 83-66 in its season-opener on Nov. 13. … Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) equaled his career high with 15 points against Gustavus Wednesday. The junior also scored 15 points in the Cardinals' season-opening win over Crossroads. … Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis.) also scored in double figures against the Gusties Wednesday, tossing in 13 points. … Kaiser has now scored in double figures in each of the Cardinals' first four games—including a career-tying 22-point effort 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. … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) 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, who collected a team-high eight rebounds against Gustavus Wednesday, has now hauled in 41 rebounds in the Cardinals' first three games (10.3 rpg)—including 13 against Crossroads on Nov. 13 and 16 vs. Martin Luther. … Swiggum is averaging 8.8 ppg and owns six games of 20 or more points in his collegiate career. … Kaiser and Smith-Pug head into Saturday's game against Macalester averaging in double figures at 15.0 ppg and 12.3 ppg, respectively. … The Cardinals boasted a season-high  four players in double figures vs. Crossroads in their season opener—Smith-Pugh (15), Kaiser (14), Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn. / 13), and Kai Endahl (Mendota Heights, Minn. / 12). … The Cardinals have scored 80 or more points in two of their first four games this season. … Saint Mary's 83 points against Crossroads in their season opener on Nov. 13 equaled the Cardinals' highest offensive output of a year ago—an 83-73 win over Martin Luther on Jan. 26. … Saint Mary's 85-68 loss to St. Scholastica on Nov. 29 snapped the Cardinals' season-opening two-game winning streak.
 
Scouting The Macalester Scots:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• It's been a season of streaks for Macalester—the Scots opened the year with back-to-back losses, put together a two-game winning streak, and, with Wednesday's 79-59 setback at Hamline, have now lost two straight. … Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight road games for Macalester, which is still searching for its first road win of the year (0-3). … Wednesday's 59-point effort against Hamline marked the second time this season the Scots have been held under 60 points. … On the flip side, Macalester has scored 70 or more points in both of its wins—a 71-53 victory over Crown, and an 87-78 win vs. Martin Luther. … The Scots placed three players in double figures against Hamline Wednesday, led by Kareem Ismail with 16. Jordan Black-Matthews chipped in 12 and Michael Gutierrez added 11. … The Scots boast five players with 20 or more rebounds through six games—led by Ismail with 38 (6.3 rpg) and Black-Matthews with 32 (5.3 rpg). … Macalester has had a player score 20 or more points twice this season—Dylan Kilgour netted 27 in the Scots' season-opener against Willamette, and Gutierrez tallied a season-best 31 points against Martin Luther on Nov. 17. … Gutierrez has led the team in scoring in three of the Scots' six games. … Will Lutz hauled in a season-high 11 rebounds against Crown on Nov. 20. … As a team, Macalester has knocked down 35 3-pointers—led by Kyle Bernhard with 13 and Gutierrez with nine. … Macalester is averaging 66.6 ppg and is shooting 42 percent from the field (135-for-321). … Macalester has been outscored by just five points (205-200) in the first half, but the Scots have been outscored by 40 (237-197) over the game's final 20 minutes.