ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals head to Bethel's Robertson Center for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Royals.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1 MIAC, 3-2 Overall) at Bethel Royals (2-0 MIAC, 4-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—December 3, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals got double-figure scoring from Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.), Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.), and Cole Kruger (Hayfield, Minn.), but could not overcome a cold-shooting second half, as Concordia handed the Cardinals their first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference loss of the season, 82-67, Saturday afternoon at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Bethel—December 3, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Royals took the short drive across town to Hamline and polished off their fourth win in a row, dropping the Pipers 88-75 at Hutton Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• January 11, 2016 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Saint Mary's entered its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Bethel looking to do something Bethel's previous 14 opponents could not do—win on the Royals' home court. And for the game's opening 20 minutes, the Cardinals were on pace to do just that. Bethel, however, had other ideas, as the Royals held off the never-say-die Cardinals down the stretch in making Saint Mary's home victim No. 15, 79-70 | Recap
• February 10, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: For the second time in three days, Saint Mary's found itself squaring off against an opponent in the midst of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff chase. On Monday, the Cardinals dealt Concordia a rare home loss—keeping the Cobbers from securing one of the six post-season playoff berths. And more playoff implications were on the line when Bethel—clinging to one of the final two conference playoff invitations—invaded the Saint Mary's Gym. Unfortunately, the Cardinals weren't able to replicate their Concordia performance, as Bethel scored game's first eight points and never looked back in handing Saint Mary's an 88-70 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's Gym on Saturday, hosting Gustavus in a 3 p.m. conference matchup.
• Bethel: The Royals are right back on their home court at Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., on Saturday, as Bethel welcomes Macalester for a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Beginning with Wednesday's showdown at Bethel, the Cardinals play five of their next six contests on the road—the lone home game a 3 p.m. matchup against Gustavus on Saturday. … The Cardinals' loss to Concordia last Saturday was their first home setback of the season. … The Cardinals, who opened the season with two straight victories for the second consecutive season, have not lost back-to-back games this season. … Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) scored a team-high 18 points against Concordia last Saturday, while Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) added 16 points and Cole Kruger (Hayfield, Minn.) pitched in 10. … With his season-high 18 points against Concordia last Saturday, Ferron has now scored in double figures in all five of Saint Mary's games this season. … Ferron hauled in a team-best 10 rebounds against Simpson on Nov. 28 en route to his second double-double this season. Ferron now owns four career double-doubles. … Smith-Pugh corralled a team-leading 11 boards against the Cobbers last Saturday for his third double-double this season—and fourth in a Cardinal uniform. …  Smith-Pugh's 11 rebounds against Concordia mark the third time this season the senior has hauled in 11 boards—one shy of his career high. … The Cardinals put a season-high five players in double figures in last Wednesday's 74-67 win over Carleton. Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) led the way, scoring 15 points, while Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill.) and Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) added 12, and Ferron 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 six games this season. … The Cardinals drained a season-high 12 3-pointers in their win against Carleton last 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 last Wednesday, Gleason became the fourth different player to lead the Cardinals in scoring this season. … 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 Wednesday's game against Bethel boasting three players averaging in double figures—Ferron (14.0 ppg), Smith-Pugh (11.8 ppg), and Kruger (10.2 ppg). … Smith-Pugh leads the team in rebounds with 46 (9.2 rpg), three more than Ferron (43, 8.6 rpg). … Ferron leads the Cardinals in assists with 13, one more than Smith-Pugh and Gleason. … Smith-Pugh owns a team-high six steals, one more than Romportl. … Saint Mary's has knocked down 45 treys in five games—including 10 or more three times. … Hill, who drained three 3s against Carleton last Wednesday, and Romportl lead the way with 11 3-pointers each. … Saint Mary's has gotten at least one 3-pointer from 10 different players this season. … As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 73.0 ppg, while limiting their first five opponents to just 68.6 ppg. … Saint Mary's has outscored its opponents in both halves—182-172 in the first half, and 183-171 in the game's final 20 minutes. … 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 Bethel Royals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• The Royals are in the midst of playing four of five games on the road—sandwiching road contests at St. Olaf, Hamline, Macalester and Concordia-St. Paul around Wednesday's MIAC home matchup against Saint Mary's. … After opening the season with a two-point, 89-87 loss to Heidelberg at the Wheaton (Ill.) Tournament, the Royals have rattled off four straight wins—including back-to-back victories over St. Olaf and Hamline to open the conference season. … Bethel has scored 88 points or more in four of its first five games—including a season-high 95 in a 95-46 rout of Martin Luther on Nov. 22. … Derek Magnuson scored a game-high 23 points in the Royals' win over Hamline last Saturday, while Brycen Wojta (18), Bridgeport Tusler (16), and Granger Kingland (12) also scored in double figures vs. the Pipers. … Magnuson's 23 points—a season-high and one point shy of Bridgeport's team-best 24-point effort against Luther on Nov. 18—marked the fourth time in five games the Royals' have boasted a player with 20 or more points. … Magnuson became the third different player to lead the team in scoring with his 23 points against Hamline—Tusler and Wojta have both led the Royals in scoring twice. … Bethel heads into Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's boasting four players who are averaging in double figures—Wojta (17.8 ppg), Bridgeport (16.8 ppg), Magnuson (13.2 ppg), and Kingland (11.0 ppg). … Magnuson owns a team-leading 34 rebounds (6.8 rpg), while Tusler (26, 5.2 rpg) and Kingland (24, 4.8 rpg) also have 20 or more boards. … Wojta and Trevor Hall share the team lead with 20 assists each, while Hall is the team's steals leader with 15. … Bethel has amassed 18 blocked shots through five games—led by Hall and Tusler with 7 apiece. … The Royals are shooting 46 percent from the field (152-for-329) and have knocked down 54 3-pointers—led by Wojta with 16, Tusler with 13, and Kingland with 11. … Bethel drained a season-high 16 3-pointers against Martin Luther on Nov. 22—with Wojta (5) and Tusler (4) accounting for nine of the 16. … The Royals have outscored their first five opponents 425-347—214-163 in the first half, and 211-184 in the second.