WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball coach Jamison Rusthoven might want to have a little post-game chat with his team—these down-to-the-wire nailbiters can't be too good for his blood pressure
 
For the second time in three days, the Cardinals found themselves in a battle right to the final horn—but this time around, the end result was much sweeter.
 
The Cardinals, coming off a heartbreaking 78-76 loss to Macalester on Monday—in which the Scots scored the game's final six points, including the game-winner with 0.7 seconds remaining—were clinging to a one-point, 69-68 advantage with 24.2 seconds left in regulation Wednesday evening against Hamline.
 
Saint Mary's was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line over those final 24.2 seconds in holding off Hamline 75-70 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
After a see-saw first half—in which both teams led by as many as five and the Pipers owned a 37-34 advantage—the two teams continued to trade leads over the game's final 20 minutes, with neither team able to build a lead bigger than four.
 
Trailing by two, 66-64 with less than three minutes to play, Cole Kruger (Hayfield, Minn.) drained a 3-pointer to give Saint Mary's the lead for good. The Cardinals' final eight points of the game would then come from the charity stripe, knocking down eight straight free throws—two each from Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.), Kruger, Eli Cave (Stillwater, Minn.), and David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn.)—to earn the victory.
 
Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) and Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) each scored a team-high 13 points, while Romportl chipped in 12, and Lindstand and Cave each added nine. Smith-Pugh also hauled in a team-best 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.
 
The Cardinals shot 48 percent from the field (28-for-55)—including a 7 of 15 showing from behind the 3-point line—and were a near-perfect 12-for-14 from the free throw line.
 
Hamline, meanwhile, hit on 30 of 62 field goals (48 percent) and was just 1-for-5 from behind the arc, while going 9-for-15 from the free throw line.
 
Zach Smith scored a game-high 19 points for the Pipers, while Kalu Abosi and Dylan See-Rockers also scored in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Cardinals (4-11 MIAC, 6-13 overall) are back in action—and back on their home court—on Saturday, entertaining St. Olaf in a 3 p.m. MIAC contest.