ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team kicked off the second half of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule the same way they ended the first half—with a win.
Fueled by career-best performances by
Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) and
Quashingm Smith-Pugh, the Cardinals pulled away in the second half in handing the host Scots a 75-61 conference setback at Leonard Center.
Romportl scored a career-high 20 points—including 11 in the second half—while Smith-Pugh notched his first double-double in a Cardinal uniform, scoring 16 points and adding a career-best 12 rebounds.
Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) also scored in double figures for Saint Mary's—which completed the two-game series sweep of the Scots with the win—scoring 13 points.
Macalester had the upper hand early, leading by as many as five, 14-9, with 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
From there, however, Saint Mary's heated things up, tying the game at 14-14 at the 11-minute mark. And, after the Scots scored five of the next eight points for a 19-17, the Cardinals scored eight unanswered points to jump-start a 13-2 run that gave Saint Mary's a commanding nine-point, 30-21, advantage.
Macalester closed out the half with a 6-2, whittling the Cardinals' lead to five, 32-27, at the break.
The Scots cut the Cardinals' lead to two twice early in the second half, but a pair of Romportl 3-pointers sparked a 22-12 burst that pushed the Saint Mary's lead to a 13, 66-53, with 3:43 remaining in regulation.
Macalester closed the gap to eight, 69-61 on a 3-pointer by Michael Gutierrez, but the Cardinals scored the game's final six points—all from the free throw line—to secure the win.
Macalester also finished with three players in double figures, led by Kareem Ismail with 16. Gutierrez and Ferm each finished with 14 in the losing effort.
The Cardinals (4-7 MIAC, 6-9 overall) will go for their third straight win on Monday, returning home to the Saint Mary's Gym to host Gustavus in a 7 p.m. conference matchup.
