ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals travel to Macalester's Leonard Center for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Scots.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-3 MIAC, 4-5 Overall) at Macalester Scots (0-4 MIAC, 4-5 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 2, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: In both of their MIAC meetings against Hamline a year ago, Saint Mary's used big second halves to pull away from the Pipers. Monday evening, the Cardinals and Pipers squared off for the first time this season—and once again followed the same first-half script, with Saint Mary's clinging to a three-point, 50-47 lead. Unlike those previous two meetings, however, there would be no "pulling away." And, unfortunately for Saint Mary's coach Jamison Rusthoven, there would be no Cardinal victory, either. Hamline scored seven of the game's final nine points to hand the Cardinals an 89-86 conference setback at Hutton Arena | Recap
• Macalester—December 9, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: Bethel outscored the Scots 23-8 over the game's opening 10 minutes and never looked back in dealing Macalester an 83-65 conference setback at Leonard Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—A Year Ago:
• December 5, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: When Saint Mary's took to the court against Macalester, it had been 22 days since the last time the Cardinals had played in front of their home crowd—opening the season with an 83-66 victory over Crossroads College. And a little home cooking was just what the Cardinals needed. The Cardinals put five players in double figures—including a game-high 20 points from Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis.) and 19 from Quashingm Smith-Push (St. Paul, Minn.)—as Saint Mary's rolled to an 85-70 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over the Scots | Recap
• January 23, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: Saint Mary's kicked off the second half of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule the same way they ended the first half—with a win. Fueled by career-best performances by Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) and Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.), the Cardinals pulled away in the second half in handing the host Scots a 75-61 conference setback at Leonard Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off until next Wednesday, when they entertain Augsburg in a 7 p.m. MIAC contest at the Saint Mary's Gym
• Macalester: The Scots hit the road on Saturday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference showdown against St. Olaf.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Wednesday's conference game against Macalester is the last of four straight road games for the Cardinals. … Three of the Cardinals' four wins this season have come on their home court. … The Cardinals erupted for a season-high 86 points in their 89-86 loss to Hamline on Monday. The 86-point output was Saint Mary's highest single-game scoring performance since tossing in 87 in an 87-80 victory over Macalester on Dec. 4, 2010.  … Saint Mary's has now scored 80 or more points three times this season. … Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) scored a team-high 15 points in Saint Mary's 89-86 loss to Hamline Monday. Ferron was one of five Cardinals to score in double figures vs. the Pipers—Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn. / 14), James Cullen (Western Springs, Ill. / 13), Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn. / 11), and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 11) were the others. … The Cardinals have now boasted five players scoring in double figures twice this season, having also achieved the feat in a 74-67 win over Carleton on Nov. 30. … Cullen scored a career-high 22 points in the Cardinals' 85-66 loss to Carnegie Mellon on Dec. 28. The 22-point effort was 13 points better than his previous career high. … With his team-leading 22-point performance vs. Carnegie Mellon, Cullen became the fifth different player to lead the team in scoring through nine games. … Ferron scored 22 points and hauled in 13 rebounds—both career highs—in the Cardinals' 75-73 win over Gustavus on Dec. 10. … Smith-Pugh also had a double-double against the Gusties on Dec. 10, scoring 17 points and adding 10 rebounds. It was his fourth double-double this season—and fifth as a Cardinal. … Smith-Pugh poured in a season-high 23 points in the Cardinals' loss to Bethel on Dec. 7. The 23 points were one shy of Smith-Pugh's career high—a 24-point effort against Saint John's on Feb. 6, 2016. … In his first game in a Cardinal uniform, Cole Kruger (Hayfield, Minn.) scored a team- and game-high 17 points against Martin Luther on Nov. 15. … The Cardinals enter their conference game against Macalester boasting a pair of players averaging in double figures—Ferron (13.2 ppg) and Smith-Pugh (12.3 ppg). … Smith-Pugh and Ferron are also the team's rebounding leaders with 72 (8.0 rpg) and 71 (7.9 rpg) rebounds, respectively. … Smith-Pugh also leads the Cardinals in assists with 24—four in front of Kruger—while sharing the team lead in steals (9) with Ferron. … Saint Mary's shot a season-best 51 percent (32-for-63) from the field against Hamline Monday. … The Cardinals, who are shooting 43 percent from the field (237-for-547) through nine games, have knocked down 84 3-pointers—including 10 or more five times. … The Cardinals poured in a season-high 13 3-pointers against Hamline on Monday. It was most 3-pointers in a game since raining in 13 against Bethel on Jan. 19, 2008. …  Romportl leads the way with 19 3-pointers, five more than Gleason and Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill.). … Saint Mary's has gotten at least one 3-pointer from 14 different players this season. … As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 74.9 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 76.6 ppg clip. … With their 75-73 win over Gustavus on Dec. 10, the Cardinals snapped their two-game losing streak, while also putting an end to a 12-game slide against the Gusties that dated back to a 78-75 win on Jan. 27, 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 Macalester Scots:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of back-to-back home games for the Scots, who are 2-2 at Leonard Center this season. … After opening the season with two straight wins—and victories in four of their first five games—the Scots have lost four straight. … The Scots' 83-55 loss to Bethel on Dec. 9 marked the second time in their last three contests that Macalester has surrendered 83 points. Macalester fell to Gustavus 83-68 on Dec. 3. … The 83 points allowed against both Gustavus and Bethel were a season high. … Michael Gutierrez scored a game-high 25 points in the Scots' loss to Bethel on Dec. 9. … With Gutierrez's 25-point effort against Bethel, the Scots have now had a player score 20 or more points in eight of their nine contests this season. … Gutierrez has led the team in scoring six times this season, while Kareem Ismail has done it twice, and Dylan Kilgour once. … Kilgour owns the Scots' highest single-game offensive performance, scoring 29 points against Martin Luther on Nov. 28. … Gutierrez enters Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's averaging a team-best 21.4 ppg, while Ismail is also averaging in double figures at 14.9 ppg. … Ismail is the team's rebounding leader with 77 (8.6 rpg), while also owning team highs in assists (29) and blocks (12). … Kilgour has collected a team-best eight steals, one more than Ismail and Jordan Black-Mathews. … Macalester is shooting 42 percent from the field (209-for-493) and has knocked down 63 3-pointers. … Gutierrez (24) and Kilgour (13) have accounted for 37 of the team's 63 3-pointers. … As a team, Macalester has scored 80 or more points twice this season, including a season-high 92-point effort in a season-opening 92-70 win over North Central (Minn.).