WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Bethel in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-12 MIAC, 6-14 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (11-5 MIAC, 15-6 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 4, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: St. Olaf used a 10-2 run to push its four-point lead to 10, 62-52—and the Oles would knock down six consecutive free throws down the stretch to seal their 74-63 victory over the Cardinals at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Bethel—February 4, 2017 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Bethel killed two birds with one stone against the Johnnies—snapping a two-game losing streak and avenging a six-point loss to the Johnnies earlier this season—posting a 90-83 win over Saint John's at Robertson Center Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—Earlier This Year:
• December 7, 2016 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Bethel erupted for 53 first-half points—and its offense never cooled off—as the Royals dealt the Cardinals a 99-82 setback at Robertson Center Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• January 11, 2016 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Saint Mary's entered its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game looking to do something Bethel's previous 14 opponents could not do—win on the Royals' home court. And for the game's opening 20 minutes, the Cardinals were on pace to do just that. Bethel, however, had other ideas, as the Royals held off the never-say-die Cardinals down the stretch in making Saint Mary's home victim No. 15, 79-70 | Recap
• February 10, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: For the second time in three days, Saint Mary's found itself squaring off against an opponent in the midst of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff chase. On Monday, the Cardinals dealt Concordia a rare home loss—keeping the Cobbers from securing one of the six post-season playoff berths. And more playoff implications were on the line when Bethel—clinging to one of the final two conference playoff invitations—invaded the Saint Mary's Gym. Unfortunately, the Cardinals weren't able to replicate their performance of two days ago, as Bethel scored game's first eight points and never looked back in handing Saint Mary's an 88-70 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are off until Monday, when they travel to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference contest against the Auggies.
• Bethel: The Royals are back on the road on Saturday, heading to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 3 p.m. MIAC matchup against the Auggies.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Bethel is the fourth straight home game for the Cardinals, who have picked up four of their six wins on their home court—including last Wednesday's thrilling 75-70 win over Hamline. … With last Wednesday's five-point win over Hamline, 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. … Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) scored a team-high 16 points and Jason Timm (Brillion, Wis.) chipped in 12 in the Cardinals' 74-63 loss to St. Olaf last Saturday. … Ferron has scored in double figures in 10 of the Cardinals' last 12 games—and in 16 of the team's 20 games 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 last Wednesday 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. … Timm's 12-point effort against St. Olaf last Saturday was a career high. … 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), Timm (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 against Bethel Wednesday boasting three players averaging in double figures—Ferron (14.0 ppg), Smith-Pugh (11.4 ppg), and Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn. / 11.2 ppg). … Ferron and Smith-Pugh are also the team's rebounding leaders with 142 (7.1 rpg) and 134 (6.9 rpg) rebounds, respectively. … Smith-Pugh leads the team in assists with 56, 13 in front of Kruger. They are two of five Cardinals with 20 or more assists— Romportl (38), 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 (515-for-1190) through 20 games, have knocked down 160 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 45 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 72.9 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at an 79.8 ppg clip. … The Cardinals erupted for 106 points in their 111-106 loss to Augsburg 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 Bethel Royals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back road games for the Royals, who are 7-4 away from Robertson Center Gym this season. … Following road games at Saint Mary's and Augsburg, Bethel closes out the regular-season with two straight home contests. BU Is 8-2 on its home court this season. … With their 90-83 win over Saint John's last Saturday, the Royals snapped a two-game losing streak. It was the second time this season Bethel had dropped back-to-back games. … After opening the season with an 89-87 loss to Heidelberg University, the Royals rattled off a season-high nine straight wins. … Bethel's 90 points in its 90-83 win over Saint John's last Saturday marked the 12^th time this season the Royals have scored 80 or more points—including a season-high 99 in beating Saint Mary's 99-82 in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 7. … The Royals put four players in double figures in last Saturday's 90-83 win over Saint John's, led by Bryce Wojta with 21. Bridgeport Tusler and Derek Magnuson each chipped in 18 points, and Trevor Hall finished with 17 for the Royals. … Magnuson, who did not miss a shot from the field—going 7-for-7—en route to his 18 points, also recorded 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season and ninth of his career. … With his fifth point last Saturday, Tusler recorded his 1,000^th career point. … Bethel heads into Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's boasting five players who are averaging in double figures—Tusler (15.2 ppg), Wojta (13.3 ppg), Hall (13.3 ppg), Granger Kingland (12.4 ppg), and Magnuson (12.0 ppg). … Kingland and Magnuson have each posted season-high 27-point games, while Hall owns a 26-point performance. … The Royals also have three players—Magnuson (151, 7.2 rpg), Hall (135, 6.4 rpg), and Kingland (103, 4.9 rpg)—with 100 or more rebounds. … Hall is the team's assist leader with 70, while also owning a team-best 55 steals and 18 blocks. … Bethel, which is shooting 49 percent from the field (627-for-1287), has knocked down 164 3-pointers, led by Kingland with 46, Tusler with 38, and Wojta with 33. … The Royals are averaging 81.7 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 71.3 ppg clip. … Bethel has played one overtime game this season, beating Carleton 70-63 on Jan. 2.