WINONA, Minn. — From the very first basket, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team had to play catch-up in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Gustavus.
 
But no matter how hard they tried, the Cardinals just could not seize the lead away from the Gusties, as Gustavus had just enough down the stretch to hand Saint Mary's a 71-62 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Gustavus scored the game's opening basket and built their lead to as many as 10—30-20—before settling for a seven-point, 35-28 halftime advantage.
 
The Cardinals opened the second half with a free throw by Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.), but Gustavus answered with a 3-pointer from Brian Jacobs to give the Gusties a nine-point, 38-29 advantage.
 
But the Cardinals weren't about to go down without a fight, clawing their way to a 40-40 tie—capping an 11-2 run with a highlight-reel layup by Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) with six minutes expired in the second half.
 
Gustavus, however, rattled off six unanswered points, and pushed its lead to nine six times, including a 62-53 cushion with three minutes remaining.
 
A 3-pointer by Braden Walbeck (Fall Creek, Wis.) and another basket by Swiggum made it a four-point game, 62-58, but the Cardinals could get no closer, as Gustavus scored five of their final nine points from the free throw line to ice the win.
 
Swiggum finished with a team-high 17 points for the Cardinals, and missed out on his third double-double of the season by one rebound. Ferron chipped in 14 points and Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) added 11.
 
The Cardinals shot 50 percent from the field (25-for-50)—including four 3-pointers—but were just 8 of 16 from the free throw line and committed 19 turnovers.
 
Gustavus—which shot 52 percent from the field (27-for-52) with four 3-pointers and a 13-for-20 effort from the free throw line—got a game-high 21 points from Gary Cooper, while Brody Ziegler and Jacobs chipped in 16 and 12 points, respectively.
 
The Cardinals (4-8 MIAC, 6-10 overall) are right back in action on Wednesday, traveling to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference matchup against the Auggies.