By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Monday, as the Cardinals entertain Concordia in a 5 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-6 MIAC, 1-10 Overall) vs. Concordia Cobbers (1-5 MIAC, 3-8 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 6, 2018 * Collegeville, Minn.: Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) and Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis.) each scored a team-high 12 points, but the Cardinals could not cool off the nation's top field-goal shooting team, as 16^th-ranked Saint John's dealt Saint Mary's an 82-52 MIAC setback at Sexton Arena | Recap
• Concordia—January 6, 2018 * St. Peter, Minn.: Gustavus used a 16-6 second-half run to break open a tight game and lead the Gusties to a 62-52 conference win over the Cobbers at Gus Young Court | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—A Year Ago:
• December 3, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's got double-figure scoring from both Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) and Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.), but could not overcome a cold-shooting second half, as Concordia handed the Cardinals their first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference loss of the season, 82-67, Saturday afternoon at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• January 21, 2017 * Moorhead, Minn.: Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) enjoyed his most productive offensive performance in a Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball uniform against Concordia. Unfortunately, Saint Mary's could not parlay Romportl's career-high 22-point effort into a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory, as Concordia held off a furious late rally in dealing the Cardinals a 73-68 setback at Memorial Auditorium | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as Saint Mary's entertains Gustavus in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Concordia: The Cobbers return home to Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn., on Wednesday, hosting St. Thomas in a 5:45 p.m. conference showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Last Saturday's game at Saint John's was the fourth straight road game for the Cardinals—who play their next three contests on their home court. … The Cardinals have collected five of their last seven wins on their home court. … Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) and Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis.) each scored 12 points to lead the Cardinals in last Saturday's 82-52 loss at Saint John's. … Anthony-Bello has now led or shared the team lead in scoring six times this season. … Bailey's 12 points against the Johnnies last Saturday were a career high—one more than his previous career best of 11 points, recorded three times this season. … Saint Mary's has had eight players record single-game career highs of 10 or more points this season—Cullen (24), Anthony-Bello (16), David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn. / 15), Nate Urell (Fountain City, Wis. / 14), Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis. / 12), Bailey (12), Christian Oliveras (Bolingbrook, Ill. / 11), and Kristjan Meitz (Waukesha, Wis. / 10). … The Cardinals put a season-high five players in double figures in their 86-76 loss to Concordia-Chicago on Nov. 25. … Along with his 14 points against Concordia-Chicago on Nov. 25, Anthony-Bello also hauled in a career-best 11 rebounds en route to his first collegiate double-double—and the Cardinals' first double-double of the season. … Anthony-Bello and Cullen enter Monday's MIAC game against Concordia leading the team in scoring with 10.1 ppg and 8.8 ppg averages, respectively, while Bailey (8.5 ppg), Rosner (8.3 ppg), and Lindstrand (8.2 ppg) are all averaging more than eight points per game. … Anthony-Bello is the team's rebounding leader with 48 (4.4 rpg), eight more than Bailey (40, 3.6 rpg) … Lindstrand boasts a team-high 21 assists. He is one of four players with 10 or more assists through 11 games—Bailey (19), Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill. / 16), and Cullen (15) are the others. … Anthony-Bello owns a team-high 16 steals, three more than Lindstrand. … The Cardinals have drained 69 3-pointers through 11 games—including a season-high 10 against Gustavus on Nov. 29. … Cullen leads the team with 19 3-pointers, while Anthony-Bello is second with 14. … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 39 percent from the field (240-for-623), while knocking down 123 of their 171 free throws (72 percent). … With their 89-75 win over Martin Luther on Nov. 15, the Cardinals have now opened their season with a win in each of their last four seasons—including back-to-back years with season-opening victories over the Knights. … The Cardinals' 89 points vs. Martin Luther on Nov. 15 marked their highest offensive performance of the season, and the most points scored since erupting for 106 points in a 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 scored 80 or more points four times last season.
 
Scouting The Concordia Cobbers:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Monday's game against Saint Mary's is the second straight road game for the Cobbers, who have collected two of their three wins this season away from Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn. … Last Saturday's 62-52 loss to Gustavus pushed Concordia's losing streak to a season-high five straight. … Jordan Davis, making just his fourth start of the season, scored a team-high 14 points against Gustavus last Saturday. Davis was the only Cobber to score more than eight points vs. the Gusties. … Concordia enters Monday's showdown with Saint Mary's boasting a pair of players—Thomas Schyma (11.8 ppg) and Collin Larson (10.6 ppg) averaging in double figures. … Concordia has had seven different players lead them in scoring through 11 games. … The Cobbers have had four players score 20 or more points in a game this season—Schyma (20), Austin Heins (21), Collin Larson (24), and Kevin Wolfe (25). … The Cobbers boast six players with 30 or more rebounds this season, led by Heins with 56 (5.1 rpg) and Jacob Pazdernik with 46 (3.2). … Larson has dished out a team-best 31 assists, with Schyma (26) and Pazdernik (24) also owning 20 or more assists. … Concordia is shooting 50 percent from the field through 11 games (284-for-568) and has drained 76 3-pointers. … Larson owns the team lead with 22 3-pointers, followed by Pazdernik (14), Austin Rund (12), and Jordan Davis (10). … The Cobbers, who are averaging 68.6 ppg, have scored 80 or more points twice this season—beating Bethany Lutheran 88-87 and UM-Morris 80-71. On the flip side, Concordia has surrendered 80 or more points in a game six times—including three games of 90 or more. CC allowed 90 points in back-to-back losses to Bethel (90-78) and St. Scholastica (90-77), while giving up a season-high 97 in falling to Minn. State-Moorhead on Nov. 21.