WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain Concordia in a 3 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 MIAC, 3-1 Overall) vs. Concordia Cobbers (0-1 MIAC, 2-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 30, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals knocked down 12 3-pointers—including nine in the first half—as they opened MIAC play with a 74-67 win over Carleton at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Concordia—November 30, 2016 * St. Peter, Minn.: Gustavus scored on 12 straight possessions in a six-minute span late in the second half in dealing the Cobbers a 92-75 setback in the teams' conference opener at Gus Young Court | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—A Year Ago:
• January 13, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) led a trio of Saint Mary's players in double figures—and Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) recorded his first double-double of the season—but the Cardinals could not keep pace with Concordia, as the Cobbers erupted for 45 second-half points and slowly pulled away in handing Saint Mary's an 81-65 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 8, 2016 * Moorhead, Minn.: The Cardinals found themselves in the role of spoiler against Concordia in the teams' conference matchup—and they played it to perfection. Saint Mary's rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit—thanks in part to the clutch, long-range shooting of James Cullen (Western Springs, Ill.)—as the Cardinals knocked off Concordia 56-55 at Memorial Auditorium, and kept the Cobbers from locking up an MIAC Playoff berth | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Wednesday, traveling to Bethel's Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference matchup against the Royals.
• Concordia: The Cobbers are off until next Saturday, when they welcome St. Olaf to Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn., for a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Concordia is the second of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals, who are 2-0 on their home court this season. … Last Monday's 82-66 loss at Simpson snapped the Cardinals' season-opening two-game winning streak. … The Cardinals' season-opening two-game winning streak was their second in as many seasons—Saint Mary's opened last year with an 84-50 win over Crossroads and an 80-60 victory against Martin Luther. … The Cardinals put a season-high five players in double figures in Wednesday's 74-67 win over Carleton. Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) led the way, scoring 15 points, while Bradley Hill (Matteson, lll.) and Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) added 12, and Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) and David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn.) chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively. … Saint Mary's—which also had five players score in double figures once last season—has now had four or more players score in double figures in three of its four games this season. … The Cardinals drained a season-high 12 3-pointers in their win against Carleton on Wednesday—it was the most 3-pointers since Saint Mary's rained in 13 against Bethel on Jan. 19, 2008. … With his game-high 15 points against Carleton Wednesday, Gleason became the fourth different player to lead the Cardinals in scoring this season. … With his 11 points against Carleton Wednesday, Ferron has now scored in double figures in all four of Saint Mary's games this season. … Ferron, who hauled in a team-best 10 rebounds against Simpson last Monday en route to his second double-double this season, missed double-double No. 3 by one rebound against Carleton Wednesday. … Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) has also put together two double-doubles through the Cardinals' first four games—scoring 11 points and adding 11 rebounds against Martin Luther on Nov. 15, and adding 17 points and 11 boards vs. Luther last Saturday. … Ferron now owns four double-doubles in his collegiate career, while Smith-Pugh has three. … Smith-Pugh's 11 rebounds against both Martin Luther and Luther were one shy of his career high. … In his first game in a Cardinal uniform, Kruger scored a team- and game-high 17 points against Martin Luther on Nov. 15. … The Cardinals enter Saturday's game against Concordia boasting four players averaging in double figures—Ferron (13.0 ppg), Smith-Pugh (10.8 ppg), Kruger (10.3 ppg), and Gleason (10.3 ppg) … Ferron also leads the team in rebounds with 36 (9.0 rpg), one more than Smith-Pugh (35, 8.8 rpg). … Ferron and Smith-Pugh lead the Cardinals in assists with 12 and 10, respectively, with Ferron and Kruger sharing the team's steals lead with four. … Fueled by their season-high 12 3-pointers against Carleton Wednesday, Saint Mary's has now knocked down 39 treys in four games—including 10 or more three times. … Hill, who drained three 3s against Carleton, leads the way with 10 3-pointers, followed by Romportl (8), Kruger (7), and Gleason (6). … Saint Mary's has gotten at least one 3-pointer from 10 different players this season. … As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 74.5 ppg, while limiting their first three opponents to just 65.2 ppg. … Saint Mary's owns a 25-point scoring edge over the game's final 20 minutes, outscoring its opponents 151-126 in that span. … Saint Mary's 84 points against Martin Luther in its season-opening 84-50 win on Nov. 15 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. That 85-point output marked the highest offensive output since Saint Mary's tossed in 87 in an 87-80 victory over Macalester on Dec. 4, 2010.  … 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight road contest for the Cobbers, who play their final two games of December—vs. St. Olaf next Saturday and vs. Valley City State on Dec. 30—on their home court. … CC is in the midst of its three longest road trips of the season. Once they wrap up in Winona on Saturday, the Cobbers will have traveled 1,724 miles—all in a seven-day stretch, and all in the state of Minnesota. … With their 92-75 setback at Gustavus on Wednesday, the Cobbers have not won—or lost—back-to-back games all season. … Concordia has now surrendered 90 points or more in two of its three losses—falling 107-74 to Minnesota State-Moorhead and 92-75 to Gustavus. On the flip side, Concordia has netted 80 or more points in both of its wins—beating Crown 88-64 and St. Scholastica 80-64. … Dylan Alderman scored a team-high 22 points to lead three CC players in double figures against Gustavus Wednesday. Austin Nelson chipped in 12 points and Zach Kinny added 11. … Alderman and Nelson have each led the team in scoring twice this season, with Nelson owning the team's top individual performance, a 28-point effort in the Cobbers' season-opening 71-70 loss to UM-Morris. … Alderman's 22 points were a season-high, and five points shy of his career-high 27-point effort—also coming against Gustavus. … Nelson and Alderman head into Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's leading the team in scoring at 15.6 ppg and 13.2 ppg, respectively. … Concordia boasts four players with 20 or more rebounds through five games, led by Dawson Peterson (25, 5.0 rpg), Nelson (23, 4.6 rpg), and Kinny (22, 4.4 rpg). … Kinny has dished out a team-leading 32 assists and also owns six of the team's 13 steals. … CC is shooting 52 percent from the field (141-for-273), including 38 of 109 from behind the 3-point line. … Nelson has amassed 14 3-pointers in five games, with Kinney and Guilherme Saad second with seven each. … Concordia has outscored its opponents 202-192 in the first half, but have been outscored 206-185 after halftime.