WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team kicks off a stretch of three straight home games on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Bethel in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-10 MIAC | 8-13 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (9-7 MIAC | 14-7 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals rallied from a nine-point second half deficit—thanks in part to the clutch, long-range shooting of James Cullen (Western Springs, Ill.)—and knocked off Concordia 56-55 at Memorial Auditorium | Recap
• Bethel: Brycen Wojta scored a team-high 20 points, but it was not enough, as Augsburg completed its two-game season sweep of the Royals, beating BU 74-68 Monday at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—Earlier This Year:
• January 11, 2016 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Saint Mary's entered its MIAC game looking to do something Bethel's previous 14 opponents could not do—win on the Royals' home court. 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
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• December 8, 2014 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's boasted three players in double figures—led by Nick Ogren with 11—in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Bethel. Unfortunately, the Cardinals' offensive arsenal was no match Bethel's long-range bombers, as the Royals drained 14 3-point field goals—including nine in the second half—and pulled away in handing Saint Mary's a 77-52 loss at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• January 31, 2015 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) scored a team-high 13 points and added five rebounds, but it was not enough to off-set the double-double of Bethel's Kyle Zimmerman, as Saint Mary's dropped a 79-59 conference decision to the Royals at Robertson Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back on their home court on Saturday, playing host to St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. conference showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Bethel: The Royals return to Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., on Saturday, hosting St. Thomas in a 1 p.m. MIAC contest.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• After playing four of its previous five games on the road, Saint Mary's plays its next three contests on its home court. … The Cardinals' win over Concordia Monday not only snapped their two-game losing streak, but also put an end to a nine-game slide against the Cobbers. … Monday's win over Concordia was the Cardinals' eighth of the season—their most wins since the 2010-11 season, when they finished 9-16. … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.)—who netted his 1,000^th career point in the Cardinals' loss to Saint John's last Saturday—scored a team-high 12 points against Concordia Monday, while Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) chipped in 10. … Smith-Pugh has now scored 10 or more points 15 times this season. … Swiggum is the 26^th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000 career-point mark. … Smith-Pugh scored a career-high 24 points to lead four players in double figures against Saint John's last Saturday. … Smith-Pugh's 24 points were the most by a Cardinal this season, and marked the eighth time Saint Mary's has had a player score 20 or more points in a game. … Swiggum has recorded seven career games of 20 or more points. … The Cardinals boast eight players who have recorded a single-game career-high of 10 or more points this season—Smith-Pugh (24), Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis. / 22), Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn. / 20), Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn. / 22), Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 20), Braden Walbeck (Fall Creek, Wis. / 14), Kai Endahl (Mendota Heights, Minn. / 13), and Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill. / 11). … Saint Mary's has had seven different players lead the team in scoring this season. … Swiggum owns a team-high two double-doubles this season—giving the Cardinal senior 10 for his collegiate career. … Smith-Pugh recorded his first collegiate double-double against Macalester on Jan. 23, scoring 16 points and adding a career-high 12 rebounds. … Ferron owns the Cardinals' other double-double this season with 14 points and 10 rebounds against Concordia on Jan. 13. … Ferron hauled in a career-high 11 boards against Bethel on Jan. 11. … Smith-Pugh and Kaiser enter Wednesday's conference game against Bethel averaging in double figures at 12.2 ppg and 11.2 ppg, respectively. … Swiggum is the team's rebounding leader with 154 (7.3 rpg), while Ferron has also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau with 109. … Swiggum has had 10 or more rebounds in a game four times this season—including a season- and career-best 16-rebound effort against Martin Luther on Nov. 24. … The Cardinals netted a season-high 11 3-pointers against Saint John's last Saturday.… Kaiser owns a team-high 28 3-pointers—including a season-high five in the team's first meeting against Saint John's on Jan. 2. In meeting No. 2 vs. the Johnnies, Kaiser drained four treys. … Smith-Pugh leads the team in assists with 53 and Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn.) is the team-leader in blocks with 15. … Kaiser boasts a team-best 14 steals, one more than Romportl. … Saint Mary's equaled its season high with 24 made free throws against Hamline on Jan. 20. The Cardinals also drained 24 free throws against St. Olaf on Jan. 9. … Saint Mary's has scored 80 or more points five times this season—including 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. … Saint Mary's is averaging 68.1 ppg. … Saint Mary's held Concordia to 55 points Monday, marking the third time this season the Cardinals have held a team to less than 60 points. … Saint Mary's boasted a season-high five players in double figures in the Cardinals' first meeting against Macalester—an 85-70 win—on Dec. 5. … The Cardinals ended a six-game losing streak against Carleton with their 57-52 win on Jan. 30, and snapped an 11-game losing streak against Augsburg with their 68-65 victory on Dec. 9.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight road contest for the Royals, who are 4-5 away from Robertson Center this season. … Despite Monday's 74-68 overtime loss to Augsburg, the Royals remained in the thick of the MIAC Playoff race, sitting tied with Carleton for fifth, one game in front of the Auggies. … Bethel enters Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's having lost two of its last three and four of its last six. … Brycen Wojta scored a team-high 20 points against Augsburg on Monday, leaving the junior guard just two points shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career. … Tim Hanson and Bridgeport Tusler also scored in double figures for the Royals Monday, totaling 13 points each. … Wojta has now scored 20 or more points four times this season—including a season-high 25-point effort against Saint John's on Jan. 30. … Bethel boasts four players—Bridgeport Tusler (14.4 ppg), Wojta (13.1 ppg), Derek Magnuson (12.9 ppg), and Trevor Hall (11.7 ppg)—who are averaging in double figures through 21 games this season. … … Magnuson posted the Royals' highest single-game offensive performance of the season against Northwestern on Dec. 1, scoring a career-high 29 points—including 25 in the first half. … Magnuson has amassed a team-best 133 rebounds (6.3 rpg) and owns four double-doubles. … Hall has dished out a team-leading 74 assists—he is one of four Royals with 40 or more helpers—while Tusler is the team-leader in steals (48). … Bethel has drained 148 3-pointers this season, led by Jared Nelson with 37 and Tusler with 26. … The Royals, who are averaging 77.4 ppg, have scored 80 or more points eight times this season, and have eclipsed the century mark twice—beating Macalester 107-95 and Hamline 104-66.