WINONA, Minn. — When the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team took to the court Saturday afternoon, it had been 22 days since the last time the Cardinals had played in front of their home crowd—opening the season with an 83-66 victory over Crossroads College.
 
And a little home cooking was just what the Cardinals needed.
 
The Cardinals put five players in double figures—including a game-high 20 points from Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis.) and 19 from Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.)—as Saint Mary's rolled to an 85-70 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win.
 
The first half proved to be 20 minutes of seven-point runs. The Cardinals scored the game's first seven points, only to have Macalester respond with seven unanswered points of their own. Another 7-0 burst gave Saint Mary's a 16-9 lead, but again Macalester clawed its way back, using a 5-0 run to cut the Cardinal lead to two, 18-6.
 
The Scots pulled even twice, 21-21 and 23-23, but Saint Mary's closed the half by scoring 13 of the half's final 17 points—including its third 7-0 run—to take a 36-27 advantage into the locker room at the half.
 
Macalester cut the Cardinals' halftime lead to six twice early in the second half, but then Saint Mary's took control—pushing its lead to as many as 20 on three separate occasions, including 69-49 with less than seven minutes remaining.
 
The Scots, however, would not go away quietly, using a 14-4 run that included 10 unanswered points, to make it a nine point game, 70-61.
 
Saint Mary's would not let Macalester any closer, outscoring the Scots 15-9 down the stretch to seal their first conference win of the season.
 
Along with Kaiser's game-high 20 points—the second time this season the senior has reached the 20-point plateau—and Smith-Pugh's career-high 19, Saint Mary's also got 14 points from Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.), 12 from Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.), and 10 from Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.).
 
Saint Mary's shot 52 percent from the field, knocking down 28 of 54 field goal attempts—including seven 3-pointers—while adding a 22-for-30 effort from the free throw line.
 
Wyatt Ferm netted 16 points to lead four Scots in double figures, with Kareem Ismail adding 15, and Kyle Bernhard and Jordan Black chipping in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Cardinals (1-1 MIAC, 3-2 overall) are back on their home court on Wednesday, hosting Augsburg in a 7 p.m. conference matchup.