GREEN BAY, Wis. — James Cullen (Western Springs, Ill.) knocked down three 3-pointers and scored a team-high nine points, but the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team could not slow down the high-octane offense of UW-Green Bay, as the NCAA Division I Phoenix dealt the Cardinals a 108-59 setback in an exhibition game at Resch Center.
 
The Phoenix knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game and slowly pulled away over the game's opening 20 minutes. UW-GB pushed its lead to 21-8—with Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) accounting for six of the Cardinals' first eight points—only to have Saint Mary's answer with a 10-4 burst, capped by a James Cullen (Western Springs, Ill.) 3-pointer, to cut the deficit to seven, 25-18.
 
From there, however, UW-Green Bay took control, using an 11-0 burst as part of a half-ending 28-13 run to give the Phoenix a commanding 53-31 cushion at the break.
 
And UW-Green Bay picked up right where it left off in the second half, scoring the first five points of the half and putting together runs of 13-0 and 12-0 over the final 10 minutes in outscoring the Cardinals 56-28 in cruising to the victory.
 
Cullen, who drained seven 3-pointers in the Cardinals' two exhibition games—going 4-for-4 from behind the arc in Saint Mary's exhibition against NCAA Division II Winona State earlier this year—scored six of his nine points in the second half.
 
Cole Kruger (Hayfield, Minn.) and Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) each chipped in seven points for the Cardinals, while Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.), Eli Cave (St Paul, Minn.), and Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill.) all finished with six.
 
The Cardinals shot 33 percent from the field (20-for-61)—including 9 of 29 from the 3-point line, while adding a 10-for-12 showing from the free throw line. UW-Green Bay, meanwhile, went 41-for-74 from the field (55 percent) with nine 3-pointers, and was 17 of 27 from the charity stripe.
 
Jamar Hurdle netted a game-high 21 points to lead four UW-Green Bay players in double figures. Karem Kantor chipped in 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Kameron Hankerson and David Jesperson each added 10 points.
 
The Cardinals are now off until Dec. 28, when they travel to Pittsburgh, Pa., for a 2 p.m. (EST) nonconference game against Carnegie Mellon.