By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team kicks off the home portion of its schedule on Tuesday, hosting NCAA Division II Winona State in a 7 p.m. exhibition game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-1 Overall) vs. Winona State Warriors (1-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 17, 2018 * New Ulm, Minn.: Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) scored a game- and career-high 35 points in leading the Cardinals to their second win in three games, rolling to a 79-63 nonconference victory over Martin Luther | Recap
• Winona State—November 17, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Winona State surrendered just two second-half field goals — and nine total points — as the Warriors rolled to an 87-44 nonconference win over Waldorf at McCown Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Winona State — Their Last Meeting:
• November 21, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Fueled by nine 3-pointers, the Cardinals had the Warriors on the ropes, taking a one-point, 47-46 lead into the locker room at the half. Unfortunately, the final 20 minutes were not kind to the Cardinals, as the Warriors closed out the second half on a 27-3 run, quickly erasing that one-point deficit and dealing the Cardinals a 100-61 exhibition setback at WSU's McCown Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on their home court at the Saint Mary's Gym on Saturday, entertaining Luther in a 3 p.m. nonconference contest.
• Winona State: The Warriors are now off until next Tuesday, when they host Viterbo in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at McCown Gym.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• After three straight road games to open the season, the Cardinals play their next five games — and six of their next seven — on their home court. … With their 76-71 win over Crown on Nov. 10, the Cardinals have now won their season-opener in each of their last five seasons. … Saint Mary's season-opening win over Crown on Nov. 10 was the first collegiate coaching victory for Cardinal head coach Joe Fano. … Saint Mary's improved to 5-0 all-time against Martin Luther with last Saturday's 79-63 win. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) poured in a season- and career-high 35 points in the Cardinals' nonconference win over Martin Luther last Saturday. … Cave's 35-point effort was the highest single-game performance since Michael Burfeind netted 38 against Concordia on Dec. 7, 2011. … Cave has now set a new career-high in each of the Cardinals' first three games — scoring 18 points in the Cardinals' season-opening win over Crown on Nov. 10, before netting 20 a day later against UW-La Crosse. … Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) also scored in double figures against Martin Luther last Saturday, recording 15 and 13 points, respectively. … Freetly's 15 points vs. the Knights were a career-high — two more than his previous career-best of 13, set against Crown on Nov. 10. … Cave heads into Tuesday's exhibition game against Winona State averaging 24.3 ppg. … Cave is one of four Cardinals averaging in double figures through three games — Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis. / 11.5 ppg), Freetly (10.3 ppg) and Gleason (10.3 ppg) are the other three. … Along with his 24.3 ppg scoring average, Cave also leads the team in rebounds (20, 6.7 rpg), assists (10), and blocked shots (4), while also sharing the team lead in steals (4) with Freetly and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.). … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 44 percent from the field (74-for-168) and have knocked down 30 3-pointers. … The Cardinals drained 13 3-pointers in their season-opening win over Crown on Nov. 10. It was the most 3-pointers since pouring in 13 against Saint John's on Jan. 14, 2017. … Freetly leads the team with seven 3-pointers, two more than Cave, Rosner, Gleason, and Anthony-Bello. … Five of the Cardinals' last seven games have been decided by 10 points or less. … The Cardinals snapped a 19-game road losing streak with their season-opening 76-71 win at Crown on Nov. 10.
 
Scouting The Winona State Warriors:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Tuesday's game against Saint Mary's the second of six straight games played in Winona for the Warriors, who hosted Waldorf last Saturday and will entertain Viterbo, Upper Iowa, Augustana, and Wayne State in an 11-day span beginning next Tuesday vs. the V-Hawks. … The Warriors picked up their first win of the season with last Saturday's 87-44 win over Walford. Winona State had opened the season with back-to-back losses to Missouri Western (65-57) and No. 5 Northwestern Missouri State (84-59) at the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic on St. Joseph, Mo. … The Warriors allowed just nine second-half points in last Saturday's rout of Waldorf. … Caleb Wagner scored a team-high 16 points coming off the bench against Waldorf last Saturday. Tommy Gathie (13), Charlie Koontz (10), and Kevion Taylor (10) also scored in double figures against Waldorf. … Taylor recorded 10 rebounds to go along with his 10 points for his first double-double of the season. … The Warriors head into Tuesday's game at Saint Mary's boasting three players averaging in double figures — Dalante Peyton (13.0 ppg), Koontz (10.0 ppg), and Wagner (10.0 ppg). … Koontz has hauled in a team-leading 19 rebounds through three games, one more than Taylor (18, 6.0 rpg). … Devin Whitelow is the team-leader in both assists (13) and steals (4), with Tommy Gathie owning two of the team's five blocked shots. … The Warriors are shooting 42 percent from the field (72-for-171) and have drained 30 3-pointers. … Wagner is the team's long-range leader, hit six 3-pointers, two more than Koontz. … Winona State rained in a season-high 16 3-pointers against Waldorf last Saturday — including 10 in their 48-point second half.