WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team heads across town on Monday, as the Cardinals travel to Winona State's McCown Gym for a 7 p.m. exhibition game against the NCAA Division II Warriors
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 Overall) at Winona State Warriors (1-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 15, 2016 * New Ulm, Minn.: The Cardinals got a game-high 17 points from Cole Kruger (Hayfield, Minn.) and double-doubles from both Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) and Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) in rolling to an 84-50 season-opening win over Martin Luther | Recap
• Winona State—November 12, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Warriors knocked down three 3-pointers in their first four possessions and never looked back in rolling to a 76-47 nonconference victory over UW-Stout at McCown Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Winona State—Their Last Meeting:
• November 3, 2012 * Winona, Minn.: Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) scored a team-high 16 points, but the Cardinals could not slow the high-powered Warriors, as Winona State jumped out to a 40-29 halftime lead and never looked back in handing Saint Mary's an 83-58 exhibition setback at McCown Gym | Box Score
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals kick off the home portion of their schedule on Saturday, as Saint Mary's entertains Luther in a 3 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Winona State: The Warriors head to Owensboro, Ky., this weekend to take part in the Kentucky Wesleyan Classic. WSU will open tournament play with a 2:15 p.m. game against host Kentucky Wesleyan, with the tourney concluding Saturday vs. a team to be determined.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• With their 84-50 win over Martin Luther last Tuesday, the Cardinals have now won back-to-back season openers. Saint Mary's dropped Crossroads 83-66 to kick off the 2015-16 campaign. … Saint Mary's 84 points against Martin Luther last Tuesday were one shy of the Cardinals' season-high from a year ago. Saint Mary's, which eclipsed the 80-point barrier five times last season, scored 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. … In his first game in a Cardinal uniform, Cole Kruger (Hayfield, Minn.) scored a team- and game-high 17 points against Martin Luther last Tuesday. … Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) and Quashingm Smith-Pugh, both honorable-mention All-MIAC selections a year ago, each recorded double-doubles against Martin Luther—Ferron scored 14 points and hauled in rebounds, while Smith-Pugh chipped in 11 points and 11 boards. … Ferron now owns three career double-doubles, while Smith-Pugh has two. … Smith-Pugh's 11 rebounds vs. Martin Luther were one shy of his career high, while Ferron's 11 boards were two shy of his collegiate best. … Smith-Pugh scored 10 or more points 17 times a year ago—including a career-best 24 points against Saint John's on Feb. 6. Smith-Pugh's 24 points were the most by a Cardinal last season. … Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) was the fourth Cardinal to score in double figures last Tuesday against Martin Luther, finishing with 10 points. … Gleason dished out a team-leading five assists vs. Martin Luther last Tuesday, while Kruger and Smith-Pugh each finished with four helpers. … The Cardinals knocked down 10 3-pointers against Martin Luther last Tuesday. The 10 treys were one shy of last season's single-game high of 11 against Saint John's on Feb. 6. … The Cardinals closed out the season with nine wins a year ago—the most since the 2010-11 campaign, when Saint Mary's finished 9-16. The Cardinals' seven conference wins, meanwhile, are the most since going 7-13 in 2009-10.
 
Scouting The Winona State Warriors:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• With their regular season-opening win over UW-Stout last Saturday, the Warriors have now won all three of its games this season—also posting exhibition wins over Carroll (69-56) and UW-Eau Claire (70-65). … Monday's game against Saint Mary's is the second straight home game for the Warriors, who play four of their first six regular-season contests on their home court. … Kyle Bauman—coming off an All-NSIC season a year ago, in which he led Winona State in both scoring a rebounding—poured in a team-high 21 points to lead four Warriors in double figures against UW-Stout last Saturday. Riley Bambenek (14), Charlie Koontz (11), and Corey Jeffs (10) also scored 10 or more points vs. the Blue Devils. … The Warriors shot 54 percent from the field in their season-opener against UW-Stout, nocking down 30 of 56 field goal attempts—including a 7-for-21 showing from behind the 3-point line. … Bambenek drained three of WSU's seven 3-pointers vs. the Blue Devils, while Jeffs and Josh Mongan each chipped in two. … Along with his 10 points, Jeffs hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds en route to the double-double. … Bauman and Mongan led the Warriors in assists vs. UW-Stout with four each. … The Warriors—coming off a 16-13 season a year ago—were picked to finish fifth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Coaches' Poll. WSU went 13-9 in NSIC play a year ago in finishing fourth overall. … Winona State's 16-13 overall record a year ago marked the Warriors' 13^th straight winning season.