NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team ran into a buzz-saw Wednesday evening, as Carleton shot a blistering 60 percent from the field in handing the Cardinals an 86-55 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at West Gym.
 
The Cardinals kept pace with the hot-shooting Knights early, holding leads of as many as four early, and were deadlocked at 22-22 with less than nine minutes to play in the opening half.
 
Over those nine minutes, however, Carleton—which knocked down 20 of its 35 first-half field goal attempts—outscored the Cardinals 24-9 to grab a 15-piont, 46-31 advantage at the break.
 
And as good as the Knights were in the first half, they were even better in the second, shooting 63 percent from the field (17 of 27) in outscoring Saint Mary's 40-24 to secure the victory.
 
The Cardinals, who got a team-leading 15 points from Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) and 11 from Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.), shot 40 percent from the field (21-for-53)—including six 3-pointers—while adding a 7-for-10 effort from the free throw line.
 
Freddie Gillespie scored 24 points and Kent Hanson added 20 for the Knights, who also got a 13-point, seven-rebound effort from Kevin Grow.
 
The Cardinals (3-9 MIAC, 5-11 overall) are back in action on Saturday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference matchup against Gustavus.