WINONA, Minn. - Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) led a trio of Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball players in double figures-and Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) recorded his first double-double of the season-but the Cardinals could not keep pace with Concordia in the team's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown Wednesday evening at the Saint Mary's Gym.

The Cobbers erupted for 45 second-half points and slowly pulled away from the Cardinals over the game's final 20 minutes in handing Saint Mary's an 81-65 setback.

The Cardinals did not waste any time playing the ungracious hosts, as Wyle Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) scored the game's first four points and Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) added a basket to give Saint Mary's a quick 6-0 lead.

The Cobbers, however, were unfazed, rattling off seven unanswered points to take its first lead, 7-6-a lead they would not relinquish over the game's opening 20 minutes.

Concordia pushed its lead to 12 on two separate occasions-including 32-20 with five minutes remaining, but the Cardinals ended the half the way they started it, scoring eight of the final 12 points to cut the deficit to eight, 36-28, at the break.

Saint Mary's cut into the Cobbers' halftime lead, pulling within five, 42-37, on a Ferron free throw, but Concordia responded by outscoring the Cardinals 13-2 over the next four minutes to push its lead to 55-39.

And the Cardinals could not recover.

CC led by as many as 23 over the game's final 13 minutes, but had to hold off a late Saint Mary's rally to seal the win. The Cardinals closed the game on a 13-6 run over the final five minutes, but it wasn't enough to knock off the Cobbers.

Along with Romportl's team-high 15 points, the Cardinals got 14 points and 10 rebounds-one board shy of his collegiate best-from Ferron, and Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) added 11 points.

The Cardinals shot 41 percent from the field (23-for-56) and knocked down five 3-pointers, while going 14 of 18 from the free throw line. Concordia, meanwhile, finished 30-for-54 from the field-draining seven 3-pointers-and went 14-for-20 from the charity stripe.

Jordan Bolger led all scorers with 20 points, while Isaac Anderson and Dylan Alderman also scored in double figures for the Cobbers with 16 and 11 points, respectively.

The Cardinals (2-6 MIAC, 4-8 overall) are back on their home court on Saturday, hosting nationally ranked St. Thomas in a 1 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.