ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team hits the road on Wednesday, traveling to Hamline's Hutton Arena for a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with the Pipers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-7 MIAC | 4-9 Overall) at Hamline Pipers (1-8 MIAC | 3-11 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals put three players in double figures—and knocked down nine 3-pointers—but it was not enough to keep pace with sixth-ranked St. Thomas last Saturday, as the Tommies matched the Cardinals' long-range prowess—draining 10 treys—and pulled away in the second half to hand Saint Mary's a 91-61 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Hamline: Bethel knocked down 66.7 percent of its shots in cruising to a 104-66 conference victory over the Pipers last Saturday at Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—A Year Ago:
• December 3, 2014 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals kicked off their season in grand fashion, getting double figure scoring from Ronnie Ortiz, Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) and Jake Rhyner and held off a late second-half Hamline rally to hand the Pipers to a 70-67 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• January 28, 2015 * St. Paul, Minn.: Saint Mary's got a career-high 10 points from Zach Hinrichs, but the Cardinals could not find a way to cool off the hot-handed Pipers, as Hamline shot a blistering 58 percent from the field—including a 69 percent showing in its 49-point second half—as HU handed Saint Mary's an 81-57 setback at Hutton Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, heading to Macalester's Leonard Center for a 1 p.m. MIAC game against the Scots.
• Hamline: The Pipers are off until next Monday, when they travel across town to Macalester's Leonard Center for a 7 p.m. conference showdown with the Scots.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• After back-to-back home games, the Cardinals' contest against Hamline Wednesday is the first of two straight road games for Saint Mary's. … Saint Mary's put three players in double figures against the Tommies last Saturday, led by Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) with 11. Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) and Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) each chipped in 10 points, while Ferron also added eight rebounds. … Romportl's 11-point effort vs. St. Thomas last Saturday marked the second straight game he has led the team in scoring—the junior scored a career-high 15 points to lead the Cardinals in their loss to Concordia last Wednesday. … Ferron put together a 14-point, 10-rebound effort against Concordia last Wednesday en route to his second collegiate double-double. … Ferron hauled in a career-high 11 boards against Bethel on Jan. 11. … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) scored a season-high 21 points against Bethel on Jan. 11, and now owns seven games of 20 or more points in his collegiate career. … The Cardinals have had a player score 20 or more points in a game six times this season. … Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis.) has recorded three of the team's six 20-point performances, while Swiggum, Ferron (22), and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 20) have accounted for the other three. … Ferron's 22-point effort against St. Olaf on Jan. 9 and Gleason's 20-point showing against Augsburg on Dec. 9 were both career highs. … Braden Walbeck (Fall Creek, Wis.) enjoyed a career offensive day against the Oles on Jan. 9, pouring in 14 points. … Kaiser scored a season- and career high-tying 22 points 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. … The Cardinals have had six different players lead them in scoring this season. … Kaiser and Smith-Pugh head into Wednesday's conference game at Hamline averaging in double figures at 12.4 ppg and 11.0 ppg, respectively. … Swiggum—the team's rebounding leader with 98 (7.5 rpg)—recorded his second double-double of the season, and 10^th of his collegiate career, with his 10-point, 11-rebound performance against St. Olaf on Jan. 9. … Swiggum has had 10 or more rebounds in a game four times this season—including a season- and career-best 16-rebound effort against Martin Luther on Nov. 24. … All 11 of Swiggum's rebounds against Simpson on Dec. 19 came on the defensive end. … The Cardinals finished with nine 3-pointers against St. Thomas last Saturday—one trey shy of the season-high 10 3s they poured in against both Saint John's (Jan. 2) and Augsburg (Dec. 9). … Kaiser—who finished with a season-high five 3-pointers against Saint John's on Jan. 2—has netted a team-leading 18 3-pointers, three more than Gleason and Romportl. … Smith-Pugh leads the team in assists with 34 and Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn.) is the team-leader in blocks with 10. … Walbeck, Gleason and Kaiser all share the team lead with 10 steals. … Saint Mary's drained a season-high 24 free throws against St. Olaf on Jan. 9—going 24-for-30. … Saint Mary's Dec. 16 loss to Carleton snapped the Cardinals' two-game winning streak. … Saint Mary's 68-65 victory over Augsburg on Dec. 9 was its fourth of the season—equaling the win total from a year ago. … Saint Mary's has scored 80 or more points in three of its four wins this season—including a season-high 85-point effort in its 85-70 win over Macalester on Dec. 5. … The Cardinals' 85 points vs. the Scots marked the highest offensive output since Saint Mary's tossed in 87 in an 87-80 victory over Macalester on Dec. 4, 2010. … Saint Mary's is averaging 69.6 ppg. … Saint Mary's boasted a season-high five players in double figures against Macalester on Dec. 5. … The Cardinals snapped an 11-game losing streak against the Auggies with their Dec. 9 68-65 victory.
 
Scouting The Hamline Pipers:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Last Saturday's 104-66 loss to Bethel pushed the Pipers' losing streak to a season-high nine straight—Hamline has not won since beating Macalester 79-59 on Dec. 2. … Connor Knutson and Zach Smith both scored in double figures against Bethel last Saturday, netting 17 and 15 points, respectively. … Smith (11.5 ppg) and Knutson (10.8 ppg) head into Wednesday's showdown against Saint Mary's as the only Pipers averaging in double figures. … Hamline has had a player score 20 or more points in a game five times. … Knutson owns the team's top single-game performance, scoring 26 points against Concordia on Jan. 11. … Herbert Tarpeh owns a team-best 51 rebounds (3.6 rpg), while Smith is the team-leader in both assists (45) and steals (11). … Hamline has drained 84 3-pointers this season, led by Garvis with 28. … The Pipers, who are averaging 70.0 ppg, netted a season-high 83 points in an 83-68 win over Howard Payne on Nov. 28. … With Bethel's season-high 104 points, the Pipers have now surrendered 80 or more points in six consecutive games—and nine times through 14 contests this season. … Following Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's, the Pipers kick off a three-game road swing next Monday at Macalester.