MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Monday, as the Cardinals head to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Auggies.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-13 MIAC, 6-15 Overall) at Augsburg Auggies (7-10 MIAC, 9-13 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 8, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: For the second time in as many meetings, Bethel scored 53 first-half points and kept its offense shifted into overdrive—shooting 71 percent from the field in the second half—in dealing the Cardinals a 101-69 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Augsburg—February 11, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Bethel raced out to a 12-point, 35-23 halftime advantage, and the Auggies never recovered in falling to the Royals 83-62 at Si Melby Hall | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg—Earlier This Year:
• January 11, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals erupted for 106 points in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with Augsburg—just four points shy of the school-record, set against the University of Minnesota-Duluth during the 1952-53 season. Unfortunately, Augsburg equaled the Cardinals' long-standing school record—plus one—handing Saint Mary's a heartbreaking 111-106 overtime setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg—A Year Ago:
• December 9, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: It took a while for Saint Mary's to find its shooting touch—but once they did, the Cardinals were unstoppable. Trailing by as many as 14 early in the second half, the Cardinals knocked down seven 3-pointers in erasing that 14-point deficit and handing Augsburg a 68-65 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• January 27, 2016 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg outscored the Cardinals 47-35 in the first half and never let them get closer than eight over the game's final 20 minutes in handing Saint Mary's a 75-64 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Si Melby Hall | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Wednesday, traveling to St. Thomas' Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference showdown with the defending national champion Tommies.
• Augsburg: The Auggies are right back on their home court at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., on Wednesday, hosting Macalester in their final home game of the regular-season. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Last Wednesday's game against Bethel was the fourth straight home game for the Cardinals, who have picked up four of their six wins on their home court. … Monday's game at Augsburg is the first of back-to-back road games for the Cardinals, who play at St. Thomas on Wednesday, before closing out the regular season with a home contest against Saint John's on Saturday. … With its five-point win over Hamline on Feb. 1, Saint Mary's last three wins have been decided by a combined nine points. Along with the 75-70 win over the Pipers, the Cardinals beat Gustavus 75-73 on Dec. 10, and Macalester 76-74 on Jan. 4. … Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) scored a team-high 16 points, going 7-for-9 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers, in the Cardinals' loss to Bethel last Wednesday. … Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) has scored in double figures in 10 of the Cardinals' last 13 games—and in 16 of the team's 21 contests this season. … Ferron has scored a career-high 24 points twice this season—setting the career mark against Augsburg on Jan. 11, and matching that performance against Macalester on Jan. 30. … Eighteen of Ferron's career-best 24 points vs. the Scots on Jan. 30 came in the first half. … Ferron owns a team-high four games of 20 or more points. Along with his 24-point efforts against Macalester and Augsburg, the senior also scored 22 points against Gustavus in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 10, and equaled that 22-point effort against St. Thomas on Jan. 18. … Ferron picked up his fourth double-double of the season, and fifth of his career, with 14 points and 11 rebounds against Macalester in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 4. … Ferron hauled in career-high 13 rebounds in the Cardinals' 75-73 win over Gustavus on Dec. 10. … Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) scored 13 points and added 10 rebounds against Hamline on Feb. 1 en route to his fifth double-double of the season—and sixth of his two-year career as a Cardinal. … 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 boast nine players who have recorded single-game career highs of 10 points or more this season—Smith-Pugh (30), Ferron (24), Aaron Romportl (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 have posted five players scoring in double figures twice this 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. … The Cardinals enter their conference game at Augsburg Monday boasting three players averaging in double figures—Ferron (13.6 ppg), Romportl (11.4 ppg), and Smith-Pugh (11.2 ppg). … Ferron and Smith-Pugh are also the team's rebounding leaders with 142 (6.8 rpg) and 136 (6.5 rpg) rebounds, respectively. … Smith-Pugh leads the team in assists with 57. He is one of five Cardinals with 20 or more assists—Kruger (45), Romportl (41), Ferron (31), and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 27) are the others. … Ferron is the team's steals leader with 18, two more than Romportl and Smith-Pugh. … Saint Mary's shot a season-best 51 percent (32-for-63) from the field against Hamline on Jan. 2. … The Cardinals, who are shooting 43 percent from the field (543-for-1248) through 21 games, have knocked down 167 3-pointers—including 10 or more six times. … The Cardinals equaled their season high with 13 3-pointers against Saint John's on Jan. 14—it was the second time this season Saint Mary's has hit 13 treys in a game, and the most since raining in 13 against Bethel on Jan. 19, 2008. … Romportl leads the way with 47 3-pointers. … Saint Mary's has gotten at least one 3-pointer from all 15 players this season. … As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 72.7 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at an 80.8 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 have scored 80 or more points four times this season. … Saint Mary's game against Augsburg on Jan. 11 was its first 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. … 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, were the most since going 7-13 in 2009-10.
 
Scouting The Augsburg Auggies:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Monday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight home games for the Auggies, who are 4-5 on their home court this season. … Last Saturday's 83-62 loss to Bethel was the Auggies fourth setback in their last five games. … Augsburg's 82-76 win over Saint John's on Feb. 8 snapped its three-game losing streak. … Six of the Auggies' 13 losses have come during a pair of three-game losing streaks. … Richie Perea and Martin Mitchell each scored a team-high 11 points against Bethel last Saturday, while Kevin McKiernan also finished in double figures with 10 points. … Perea has now scoffed in double figures in three of the Auggies' last four games. … Collin Olmscheid enters Monday's game against Saint Mary's averaging a team-leading 19.6 ppg. Kevin McKeiernan is also averaging in double figures at 12.6 ppg. … Olmscheid has led the team in scoring in 13 of Augsburg's 22 games. … Olmscheid has scored 20 or more points 12 times this season—including 34 in the Auggies' first meeting with Saint Mary's on Jan. 11, and a season-high 43 against Macalester a week later. … Olmsheid's 43-point effort against Macalester was the highest single-game performance since the 1998-99 season. … Olmscheid is also the team's rebounding leader with 172 boards (7.8) and owns six double-doubles this season. … Perea owns a team-leading 91 assists, while also leading the Auggies in steals with 21. … Augsburg has knocked down 168 3-pointers this season, led by McKiernan (40), Chuckie Smith (35), and Olmscheid (30). … Augsburg is averaging 75.5 ppg, and has posted nine games of 80 or more points—including a season-high 111-point effort in their 111-106 overtime win over Saint Mary's in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 11.