By
DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. — If Saturday's season-opener against Crown is any indication, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball coach
Joe Fano may be in store for a little premature aging.
But then, with a performance like the Cardinals put forth against the Storm, Fano can probably live with a few gray hairs.
Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) drained a clutch, 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining in regulation, breaking a 71-71 deadlock and sparking the Cardinals to a season-opening 76-71 win — and earning Fano his first collegiate head coaching win.
"Really proud of the guys for grinding out a tough win on the road," said Fano. "Got some big stops down the stretch as well as hitting some big shots.
"It was a great team win."
Deadlocked at 24-24 midway through the first half, Crown — which built leads as big as five three times in the game's opening 20 minutes — outscored the Cardinals 16-13 over the final nine minutes to grab a 40-37 lead at the break. Cave provided plenty of offense for the Cardinals in the first half, scoring 12 of his team-high 18 points.
The game's final 20 minutes proved to be a back-and-forth, rollercoaster ride — with neither team leading by more than three points.
Saint Mary's grabbed its first lead of the second half at 43-42 — and 46-44, 52-50, 55-53, 64-63, and 66-65. The Storm, however, used a 6-2 burst to grab a late, 71-68 advantage. A Cave layup and a free throw by the sophomore forward on their next possession pulled the Cardinal even, 71-71 — and set up Gleason's last-second heroics.
Along with his team-best 18 points, Cave also added seven rebounds, while
Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) chipped in 17 points — including three 3-pointers — and Gleason finished with nine points, all from behind the 3-point line.
As a team, the Cardinals shot 43 percent from the field (27-for-63) with 13 3-pointers, while going 9 of 12 from the free throw line.
The Storm (1-1 overall), who opened with a 91-85 win over Hamline on Thursday, were led by Tim Wendel with a game-high 24 points. Keegan Oyugi also scored in double figures for Crown, finishing with 13 points.
The Cardinals are right back in action on Sunday, traveling to UW-La Crosse's Mitchell Hall in La Crosse, Wis., for a 6 p.m. nonconference game against the Eagles.
