WINONA, Minn.  — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to its home court on Wednesday, hosting nationally ranked St. Thomas in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the Saint Mary's Gym
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-12 MIAC | 4-14 Overall) vs. #2 St. Thomas Tommies (12-1 MIAC | 17-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals got a career-high 20 points from Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn.), as Saint Mary's closed out the nonconference portion of its schedule with a 57-45 win over Illinois Institute of Technology Monday in Chicago, Ill. | Recap
• St. Thomas: Marcus Alipate scored 28 points, including six 3-pointers, as No. 2-ranked St. Thomas scored a 90-75 home-court victory over Augsburg last Saturday at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—Earlier This Year:
• December 10, 2014: The Cardinals kept eighth-ranked St. Thomas within their sights for the first 20 minutes of the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game. Over the game's final 20 minutes, however, the high-powered Tommie offense—and defense—kicked into high gear, as UST scored the first 12 points of the half, while limiting the Cardinals to just 13 second-half points, in dealing Saint Mary's a 75-43 setback at Schoenecker Arena.
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—A Year Ago:
• January 11, 2014: Saint Mary's got a first-hand look at the juggernaut that is league-leading and nationally-ranked St. Thomas. The Tommies scored the game's first nine points and shot a blistering 50 percent from the field in handing the Cardinals an 87-58 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 8, 2014: Ronnie Ortiz (Dayton, Ohio) tossed in a team-high 14 points, but Saint Mary's could not slow down high-powered and nationally ranked St. Thomas at Schoenecker Arena. The Tommies erupted for 42 first-half points — shooting 57 percent from the field — and never cooled off, as UST handed the Cardinals a 92-59 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to the Saint Mary's Gym on Saturday, as Saint Mary's entertains Concordia in a 3 p.m. conference matchup.
• St. Thomas: The Tommies are back on their home court at Schoenecker Arena on Saturday, as UST hosts Carleton in a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Monday's game against Illinois Institute of Technology was the final nonconference game of the season for the Cardinals. … With their 57-45 win over Illinois Tech, the Cardinals have now won back-to-back Monday games—Saint Mary's also beat Martin Luther 83-73 on Jan. 26. … Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn.) scored a career-high 20 points against the Scarlet Hawks on Monday, going 8-for-12 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free throw line. … Schumacher's 20-point performance was one better than his previous career high 19 points, which he accomplished twice during the 2012-13 season. … Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis.) also finished in double figures against Illinois Tech, scoring 11 points. … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) equaled his career high with 24 points against Martin Luther on Jan. 26, while Kaiser chipped in a career-best 22 points. … The efforts by Swiggum and Kaiser marked the first time this season Saint Mary's has boasted two players scoring 20 or more points in the same game. The last time the Cardinals had two 20-point scorers came on Jan. 21, 2013, when Swiggum netted 23 points and Evan Pederson added 22. …  Swiggum's 24-point effort vs. Martin Luther marked the third time this season he has eclipsed the 20-point barrier—the junior netted 22 points vs. Saint John's on Jan. 14 and 23 against Crown on Jan. 5. … Swiggum now owns six games of 20 or more points in his three years as a Cardinal. … Saint Mary's has four players who have scored 20 or more points this season. Joining Swiggum and Kaiser are Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.), who netted 22 points against Viterbo on Dec. 20, and Ronnie Ortiz (Dayton, Ohio), who poured in 21 vs. North Park on Dec. 30. … Saint Mary's boasts five players who have recorded career-high games of 10 or more points this season—Ferron (22), Kaiser (22), Ortiz (21), Nick Ogren (Stillwater, Minn. / 15), Jake Rhyner (Apple Valley, Minn. / 11), and Zach Hinrichs (Lake City, Minn.). … Swiggum notched his first double-double of the season—and eighth of his collegiate career—with 13 points and 11 rebounds against Macalester on Jan. 17. … Swiggum's 11 boards vs. the Scots were a season high—and three shy of his collegiate best. … The Cardinals' 83 points in their 83-73 win over Martin Luther on Jan. 26 were a season high—two more than the 81 they scored in their 81-64 nonconference win over Crown on Jan. 5. … Saint Mary's, which is averaging 61.7 ppg, has netted 70 or more points in a game six times. … Swiggum led five Cardinal players in double figures vs. Crown on Jan. 5—marking the second straight meeting with the Storm that Saint Mary's has boasted five double-figure scorers. … Ferron missed out on his second collegiate double-double by one assist vs. Crown, finishing with a career-high nine helpers. … Swiggum enter Wednesday's conference showdown vs. league-leading St. Thomas averaging a team-leading 10.9 ppg. … Swiggum also owns a team-best 107 rebounds (5.9 rpg). … Saint Mary's, which drained 113 3-pointers last season, has netted 107 treys—including a season-high 10 vs. North Park on Dec. 30. … Ogren—who notched a career-high four 3-pointers against Carleton on Jan. 19—has tossed in a team-best 27 3-pointers and is one of four Cardinals with 10 or more treys this season. … Ogren has made at least one 3-pointer in eight straight games and in 16 of the team's 18 contests.
 
Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
The Tommies head into Wednesday's conference showdown with Saint Mary's ranked No. 2 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25. … The Tommies pushed their winning streak to 13 straight with last Saturday's 90-78 win over Augsburg. … UST's 68-65 loss to Gustavus in the teams' conference-opener on Dec. 3 snapped the Tommies' season-opening four-game winning streak. … With its 19 wins, UST is one victory away from recording its 10th straight 20-win season. … UST's 90 points vs. Augsburg Saturday marked the second time this season it had scored 90 or more points in a game—the Tommies netted a season-high 96 points in a 96-45 win over Macalester on Jan. 7. … Marcus Alipate scored a team-high 28 points against Augsburg Saturday, falling two points shy of his season-best 30-point effort against Bethel on Jan. 19. … Alipate drained a season-high six 3-pointers en route to his 28 points vs. Augsburg. … Alipate—who became the first Tommie in seven seasons to score 30 points with his 30-point showing against Bethel on Jan. 19—enters Monday's game against Saint Mary's averaging a team-high 13.1 ppg. He is one of an six Tommies averaging in double figures through 18 games—Taylor Montero (11.3 ppg), Conner Nord (11.2 ppg), Grant Schaeffer (10.8 ppg), Cortez Tillman (10.7 ppg), and Ryan Saarela (10.2 ppg) are the other five. …. Nord owns a team-best 128 rebounds (7.1 rpg), while Schaeffer is the team-leader in assists (80) and Saarela has amassed a team-high28 steals. … St. Thomas has drained 128 3-pointers this season—and its .444 3-point proficiency is ranked first in NCAA Division III. … Alipate and Cortez Tillman lead the team in 3-pointers with 49 and 32, respectively. … The Tommies are averaging 76.9 ppg, while UST's opponents are scoring at a 62.3 ppg clip. … St. Thomas is a perfect 9-0 on its home court, while going 8-1 away from Schoenecker Arena. … The Tommies, who can lock up an MIAC playoff berth with a win against Saint Mary's Wednesday, are attempting to win the program's 10th consecutive MIAC regular-season title and have a two-game lead with seven games left in the conference race.