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 Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Gustavus in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-7 MIAC, 1-11 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (6-2 MIAC, 8-5 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 8, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis.) scored a career-high 18 points, but Concordia held off a furious late-game Saint Mary's comeback in dealing the Cardinals a heartbreaking 67-64 MIAC setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Gustavus—January 8, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: Gustavus scored a season-high 98 points in pulling away for a 98-79 conference win over Macalester at Leonard Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—Earlier This Year:
• November 29, 2017 * St. Peter, Minn.: Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) enjoyed a career night in his first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference appearance, pouring in a team-leading 16 points. Unfortunately, the Cardinal freshman's effort—not to mention a season-high 10 3-pointers—was not enough, as Gustavus handed Saint Mary's an 85-65 setback in the teams' conference-opener at Gus Young Court | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—A Year Ago:
• December 10, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: On an afternoon when Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) set a career-high for points in a game, and equaled his career high in rebounds, it was only fitting that the Saint Mary's senior would be at the free throw line—with the game tied—in the final seconds. And as he had done all day, Ferron came through in the clutch, knocking down those two free throws with six seconds remaining, lifting the Cardinals to a 75-73 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Gustavus—and snapping Saint Mary's 12-game losing streak against the Gusties, dating back to a 78-75 win on Jan. 27, 2010 | Recap
• January 28, 2017 * St. Peter, Minn.: The first time Saint Mary's faced Gustavus, the Cardinals put an end to a 12-game losing streak against the Gusties, pulling out a thrilling 75-73 victory at the Saint Mary's Gym. The end to a losing streak once again awaited the victor when the two teams met again at GAC's Gus Young Court. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, this time around it was the Gusties who would end their losing ways, snapping a season-high six-game losing streak with a 68-65 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, hosting Macalester in a 1 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Gustavus: The Gusties return to conference play on Saturday, traveling to Bethel's Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 1 p.m. showdown against Bethel.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Gustavus is the second of three straight home games for the Cardinals. … The Cardinals have collected five of their last seven wins on their home court. … Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis.) scored a career-high 18 points to lead three Cardinals in double figures in Saint Mary's 67-64 loss to Concordia Monday night. … Bailey's 18-point effort marked the second straight game in which the freshman had recorded a single-game career-high, having netted a then-career-best 12 points against Saint John's last Saturday. … Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) and James Cullen (Western Springs, Ill.) each netted 11 points vs. the Cobbers Monday. … Saint Mary's has had eight players record single-game career highs of 10 or more points this season—Cullen (24), Bailey (18), Anthony-Bello (16), David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn. / 15), Nate Urell (Fountain City, Wis. / 14), Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis. / 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 enters Wednesday's matchup against Gustavus averaging a team-best 10.2 ppg, while Bailey (9.3 ppg) and Cullen (9.0 ppg) are both averaging nine or more points. … Anthony-Bello is the team's rebounding leader with 52 (4.3 rpg), four more than Bailey (48, 4.0 rpg) … Lindstrand boasts a team-high 26 assists. He is one of five players with 10 or more assists through 11 games—Bailey (21), Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill. / 18), Cullen (17), and Anthony-Bello (10) are the others. … Anthony-Bello owns a team-high 18 steals, while Bailey has accounted for 18 of the team's 25 blocked shots. … The Cardinals equaled their season high with 10 3-pointers against Concordia on Monday. Saint Mary's also knocked down 10 3-pointers in their first meeting with Gustavus on Nov. 29. … As a team, Saint Mary's has drained 79 3-pointers through 12 games, led by Cullen with 22 and Anthony-Bello with 19. … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 39 percent from the field (263-for-675), while knocking down 131 of their 184 free throws (71 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight road games for the Gusties, who are 4-2 away from Gus Young Court this season. … Monday's 98-79 win over Macalester was Gustavus' second straight victory. … The Gusties snapped a season-high three-game losing streak with a 62-52 win over Concordia on Jan. 6. … After opening the season 1-2, the Gusties put together a season-high six-game winning streak—a run that was snapped with a 64-51 loss to St. Thomas on Dec. 13. … Gustavus put four players in double figures in Monday's win over Macalester—including two with 20 or more points. Jason Faul led the way for GAC, scoring a game-, season-, and career-high 25 points, while Kelsey Thomas added 21 points. Riley Sharbono (15) and Brandon Snoberger (11) also scored in double figures vs. the Scots. … Faul knocked down 12 of 13 field goal attempts and went 1-for-1 from the free throw line en route to his career-high 25-point total. … Along with his 21 points, Thomas also hauled in 11 rebounds against Macalester Monday in recording his second double-double of the season. …  With the 25 points from Faul and 21 from Thomas, Gustavus has now had a player score 20 or more points six times this season. … Gustavus heads into Saturday's rematch with Saint Mary's boasting three players—Riley Sharbono (13.9 ppg), Thomas (12.8 ppg), and Faul (11.6 ppg) averaging in double figures. … Thomas also leads the Gusties in rebounds with 85 (7.1 rpg), followed by Sharbono (73, 5.6 rpg) and Faul (67, 5.2 rpg). … Thomas has dished out a team-leading 43 assists, six more than Austin Goetz. Thomas and Goetz are two of seven Gusties with 10 or more helpers this season. … Thomas owns a team-high 15 steals, while Sharbono and Vannis Smith share the team lead with four blocks each. … As a team, the Gusties are shooting 46 percent from the field (335-for-731) and have connected on 79 of their 249 3-point attempts (32 percent). … Zach Bloemker is the team's 3-point leader with 21, followed by Sharbono (18) and Thomas (13). … The Gusties are averaging 69.2 ppg, while allowing 65.6 ppg. … GAC's 98-point effort against Macalester on Monday was a season high, and marked the third time this season the Gusties have scored 80 or more points. GAC also netted 85 in wins over Saint Mary's (85-65) and Blackburn (85-71).