By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team's nonconference game against Luther Saturday afternoon had a little bit of everything.
 
• A combined 18 3-pointers
 
• Seven double figure scores
 
• Double-digit leads by both teams.
 
Fortunately for coach Joe Fano, it also had a Cardinal victory, as Saint Mary's survived a late Luther run to deal the Norse a 74-72 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Norse appeared to want to run and hide in the first half, as the Norse opened the game with a 3-pointer and added three more to grab what appeared to be a commanding 21-10 lead — thanks to a 12-0 run — 12 minutes remaining.
 
Saint Mary's, however, had an answer for the Norse's long-range attack, pouring in three 3-pointers of their own over those final 12 minutes — including a bomb by Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) that put the Cardinals ahead, 29-28 with just over four minutes remaining until halftime.
 
Luther would answer with a 3-pointer of its own on its next possession, but Saint Mary's got a put-back basket by Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and a pair of free throws from Jacob Chilson (Eau Claire, Wis.) to spark a hand-ending 8-2 run that gave the Cardinals a four-point, 37-33 lead heading into the game's final 20 minutes.
 
Saint Mary's had the early hand to open the second half, outscoring Luther 20-9 to get things started — and when Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) converted a three-point play with 12:40 showing on the clock, the Cardinals were in complete control, leading 55-42.
 
At least they thought they were in complete control.
 
Trailing 61-48 with less than eight minutes remaining in regulation, Luther began whittling away at the Saint Mary's lead, riding a 14-0 run to a one-point, 62-61 lead with four minutes to play.
 
Cave gave the Cardinals the lead back, 63-61 with a pair of free throws, before Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis.) knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and Saint Mary's had a five-point, 69-64 lead.
 
But this one was far from over.
 
Saint Mary's pushed its lead back to six, 73-67, only to have Luther respond with five unanswered points to make it a 73-72 Cardinal lead. Bailey made 1 of 2 free throws with 12 seconds remaining to give Saint Mary's a two-point edge, and when Gage Thompson's field goal attempts in the waning seconds failed to go down, the Cardinals had locked up their second straight win — and third of the season.
 
Cave finished with a team-high 19 points and added a career-best 12 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double, while Bailey also netted 19 points — including a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the 3-point line — and Freetly and Gleason added 14 and 13 points, respectively. Kareem Anthony-Bello also had a career afternoon for the Cardinals, hauling in 13 rebounds.
 
The Cardinals shot 42 percent from the field (25-for-60) and knocked down 10 3-pointers, while also going 14-for-17 from the free throw line. Luther, meanwhile, hit on 36 percent of its field goals (25-for-70) with eight treys and a 14 of 26 showing from the free throw line.
 
Jared Nicolaisen poured in a game-high 20 points, and Thompson and Anthony Westhusing chipped in 14 and 11 points in the losing effort for Luther.
 
The Cardinals (3-1 overall) kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, hosting St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.