MACOMB, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team kicks off the 2017-18 season with an exhibition game on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to Western Illinois' Western Hall for a 7 p.m. matchup against the NCAA Division I Leathernecks.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016-17: 6-18 Overall) at Western Illinois Leathernecks (2016-17: 8-20 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
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Last Action:
• Saturday's exhibition game is the first contest of the season for both the Cardinals and the Leathernecks.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Western Illinois—Their Last Meeting:
• Saturday's matchup is the first in program history between the Cardinals and the Leathernecks
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals officially kick off their 2017-18 season on Wednesday, as Saint Mary's entertains Martin Luther in a 5:30 p.m. nonconference contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Western Illinois: The Leathernecks are back in action on Wednesday, entertaining Eastern Illinois in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at Western Hall in Macomb, Ill.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Four of the Cardinals' six wins last season came on their home court. … The Cardinals' last three wins were decided by a combined nine points—75-70 over Hamline, 76-74 against Macalester, and 75-73 vs. Gustavus. … Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) scored a team-high 22 points in his collegiate finale against Saint John's on Feb. 18. It was the fifth time the senior scored 20 or more points last season—Ferron also scored 22 points against both Gustavus on Dec. 10 and St. Thomas on Jan. 18, while scoring a career-high 24 points against both Macalester and Augsburg. … Ferron scored in double figures in 13 of the Cardinals' last 16 games—and in 19 of the team's 24 contests a year ago. … Ferron closed out the season with five double-doubles—and notched six in his collegiate career. … Ferron hauled in a career-high 13 rebounds twice last season—vs. Gustavus on Dec. 10 and vs. St. Thomas on Feb. 15. … Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) led the team with six double-doubles a year ago, and finished his Cardinal career with seven double-doubles. … Ferron closed out his senior season as the team's scoring leader, averaging a career-best 14.0 ppg. Smith-Pugh and Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) also ended the year averaging in doubles figures at 11.3 ppg and 10.9 ppg, respectively. … Ferron and Smith-Pugh also led the team in rebounds with 169 (7.0 rpg) and 99 (6.5 rpg), respectively. … Smith-Pugh notched 10 or more rebounds seven times last season—including three games with a career-high 11 boards and four more with 10. … Smith-Pugh scored a career-high 30 points in the Cardinals' 111-106 overtime loss to Augsburg on Jan. 11. … Smith-Pugh's 30-point effort was the highest single-game performance since Will Wright poured in 30—also against Augsburg—on Feb. 19, 2010. … The Cardinals boasted nine players who recorded single-game career highs of 10 points or more last season—Smith-Pugh (30), Ferron (24), Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn. / 22), James Cullen (Western Springs, Ill. / 22), Cole Kruger (Hayfield, Wis. / 17), Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn. / 15), Jason Timm (Brillion, Wis. / 12), David Lindstrand (Euclid, Minn. / 10), and Liam Gorman (Orland Park, Ill. / 10). … The Cardinals posted five players scoring in double figures twice last season—achieving the feat in a 74-67 win over Carleton on Nov. 30 and in an 89-86 loss to Hamline on Jan. 2. … Smith-Pugh led the team in assists with 65. He was one of seven Cardinals with 20 or more assists—Kruger (50), Romportl (46), Lindstrand (44), Ferron (35), Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 32), and Cave (22) were the others. … Ferron ended the year as the team's steals leader with 24. … Saint Mary's shot a season-best 51 percent (32-for-63) from the field against Hamline on Jan. 2. … The Cardinals drained 186 3-pointers—including 10 or more six times. … The Cardinals, who finished just three 3-pointers shy of the school record of 189 set during the 1995-96 season, knocked down a season-high 13 treys twice a year ago—it was the most since raining in 13 against Bethel on Jan. 19, 2008. … Romportl led the way with a team-best 50 3-pointers a year ago. … All 15 players on the Cardinals' roster netted at least one 3-pointer this season. … As a team, the Cardinals averaged 71.7 ppg, while their opponents scored at an 80.2 ppg clip. … The Cardinals erupted for 106 points in their 111-106 loss to Augsburg in the team's first meeting on Jan. 11. The 106 points were just four shy of the school-record 110 points, set against UM-Duluth during the 1952-53 season. … The Cardinals scored 80 or more points four times last season. … Saint Mary's game against Augsburg on Jan. 11 was its lone overtime contest of the season—and the first since beating Crown 86-81 on Nov. 23, 2013. … The Cardinals' 78-76 loss to Macalester on Jan. 30 marked the second straight meeting between the two teams that was decided by two points. Saint Mary's beat the Scots 76-74 in their first meeting on Jan. 4. … With their 75-73 win over Gustavus on Dec. 10, the Cardinals put an end to a 12-game slide against the Gusties that dated back to a 78-75 win on Jan. 27, 2010.
 
Scouting The Western Illinois Leathernecks:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Western Illinois heads into Saturday's game on the heels of an 8-20 season a year ago, including a 5-11 showing in Summit League play. … The Leathernecks return 11 players from last year's team, but they did graduate their top two scorers from a year ago—Garret Covington (19.9 ppg) and Mike Miklusak (15.5 ppg). … This year's Western Illinois team features 13 scholarship players among its 15-man roster. … Dalan Ancrum, C.J. Duff, and Brandon Gilbeck are back as the Leathernecks' top returning scorers, averaging 8.2 ppg, 7.9 ppg, and 7.1 ppg, respectively. … Duff and Gilbeck started all 28 games last season. … Gilbeck is also Western Illinois' top returning rebounder, hauling in 178 boards (6.4 rpg). … Duff finished the season a year ago with 68 assists, while Mike Miklusak collected a team-best 27 steals. … As a team, Western Illinois knocked down 254 3-pointers last season, led by Covington with 86 and Miklusak with 61. … The Leathernecks, who shot 44 percent from the field last season (711-for-1633), averaged 71.9 ppg, while their opponents scored at a 76.8 ppg clip. … Western Illinois played four overtime games last season—including back-to-back OT games in its final two contests of the season. The Leathernecks finished winless in those four overtime contests, losing to Chicago State (83-76), North Dakota State (100-91), Fort Wayne (96-92), and South Dakota (78-69). … Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of three straight home games to open the season for Western Illinois, which finished 5-11 at Western Hall a year ago. … The Leathernecks dropped their final five games last season, including a 78-69 loss to South Dakota in the Summit League Tournament.