By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns home to the Saint Mary's Gym on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain 19th-ranked Saint John's in a 7 p.m. conference matchup.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-2 MIAC, 5-3 Overall) vs. #19 Saint John's Johnnies (3-0 MIAC, 6-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—December 8, 2018 * St. Peter, Minn.: The Cardinals put an end to a 35-game road losing streak against Gustavus, riding the one-two punch of Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) to an 86-81 MIAC win at Gus Young Court | Recap
• Saint John's—December 8, 2018 * Collegeville, Minn.: The Johnnies put five players in double figures — led by Jubie Alade with 19 points — as SJU kept its conference record perfect with a 92-63 win over Hamline at Sexton Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's — A Year Ago:
• January 6, 2018 * Collegeville, Minn.: Saint John's shot 54 percent from the field — including a sizzling 63 percent in the second half — in dealing the Cardinals an 82-52 conference setback at Sexton Arena | Recap
• February 5, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The fourth-ranked Johnnies, coming off just their second loss of the season against St. Olaf, took out their frustrations on the Cardinals, rolling past Saint Mary's 79-46 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off for the holiday break and do not return to action until Dec. 29, when they travel to Chicago, Ill., for a 4 p.m. nonconference game against North Park.
• Saint John's: The Johnnies, like the Cardinals, are now off until Dec. 29, when they return home to Sexton Arena in Collegeville, Minn., for a 3 p.m. nonconference game against UW-Superior.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Saint John's is the sixth home game in the last seven contests for the Cardinals. … For the second game in a row, the Cardinals put an end to a lengthy losing streak last Saturday. Just three days after snapping a 27-game conference losing streak with a 71-64 win over Concordia last Wednesday, the Cardinals halted a 35-game road losing streak against Gustavus, beating the Gusties 86-81. It was Saint Mary's first win in St. Peter, since beating GAC 86-82 in overtime during the 1982-83 season. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) each eclipsed the 20-point barrier against Gustavus last Saturday. Cave tossed in a game-high 29 points, while Anthony-Bello chipped in a career-best 21. It was the first time this season the Cardinals had put two players over the 20-point barrier in the same game. … Cave scored 27 of his 29 points after halftime, while Anthony-Bello netted 17 of his 21 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) also scored in double figures against the Gusties, finishing with 11 points. … With his 29-point showing against Gustavus last Saturday, Cave has now scored 10 or more points in all eight games — including 20 or more points four times. … Cave poured in a season- and career-high 35 points in the Cardinals' nonconference win over Martin Luther on Nov. 17. … Cave's 35-point effort was the highest single-game performance since Michael Burfeind netted 38 against Concordia on Dec. 7, 2011. … With his 21-point effort vs. Gustavus last Saturday, Anthony-Bello becomes the fifth Cardinal to post a single-game career-high of 10 or more points this season, joining Cave (35), Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis. / 19), David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn. / 19), and Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 15). … Cave picked up his third double-double of the season last Wednesday, scoring 19 points and adding 11 rebounds against Concordia. … Anthony-Bello corralled a career-best 13 rebounds against Luther on Nov. 24. … Cave heads into Wednesday's conference showdown against Saint John's averaging a team-best 21.9 ppg. … Cave is one of three Cardinals averaging in double figures through eight games — Gleason (10.3 ppg) and Freetly (10.0 ppg) are the other two. … Along with his 21.9 ppg scoring average, Cave also leads the team in rebounds (65, 8.1 rpg) and assists (27). … Freetly (44, 5.5 rpg) and Anthony-Bello (42 / 5.3 rpg) have also collected 40 or more rebounds this season. … Bailey boasts a team-best eight blocked shots, while Anthony-Bello leads the team with eight steals, one more than both Freetly and Jacob Chilson (Eau Claire, Wis.). … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 42 percent from the field (203-for-484) and are 77-for-110 (70 percent) from the free throw line. … Saint Mary's has drained 85 3-pointers through eight games — including a single-game record 14 against Gustavus last Saturday. … Saint Mary's has four players with 10 or more 3-pointers this season — Gleason (17), Cave (16), Freetly (16), and Anthony-Bello (12). … Saint Mary's set single-game season-highs in points (86), FGM (32), FGA (72), 3FGM (14), 3FGA (37), assists (22) and steals (9) against Gustavus last Saturday. … Saint Mary's is averaging 68.9 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 71.0 ppg clip … With their 86-81 win over Gustavus Saturday, 10 of the Cardinals' last 11 games have been decided by 10 points or less. … Saint Mary's put four players in double figures against St. Olaf on Nov. 28. It was the second time this season the Cardinals have had four players scored 10 or more points in a game. … The Cardinals have scored 70 or more points in each of their five wins this season — including a season-high 86 points against Gustavus last Saturday — while being held to 60, 67, and 55 points in their three losses. … The Cardinals snapped a 19-game road losing streak with their season-opening 76-71 win at Crown on Nov. 10. … Saint Mary's 3-1 start was its best since the 2010-11 season, when the Cardinals opened 8-1. … 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.
 
Scouting The Saint John's Johnnies:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Beginning with Wednesday's matchup at Saint Mary's, the Johnnies play three of their next four games away from Sexton Arena — the lone exception, SJU's Dec. 29 home matchup against UW-Superior. … Saint John's enters Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's ranked No. 19 in the latest D3hoops.com Poll. … With their 92-63 win over Hamline last Saturday, Saint John's ran its winning streak to five straight. … The Johnnies' lone setback this season came at the hands of UW-Whitewater, which beat SJU 83-72 on Nov. 16. … Saint John's 92-63 win over Hamline was its 17^th straight home-regular-season win, dating back to the 2016-17 season. … Saint John's put five players in double figures in last Saturday's lopsided win over Hamline. Judie Alade led the way for the Johnnies, scoring 19 points, while David Stokman (17), Lucas Walford (13), Ethan Novacinski (12), and Oakley Baker (10) also finished with 10 or more points vs. the Pipers. … The Johnnies head into Wednesday's showdown against Saint Mary's boasting four players who are averaging in double figures — Stokman (16.3 ppg), Walford (12.7 ppg), Alade (10.7 ppg), and Baker (10.4 ppg). … Stokman has accounted for two of the Johnnies' three 20-point performances — netting 22 against both UW-La Crosse and Gustavus. Walford owns SJU's other 20-point game, tossing in a season-high 23 against Gustavus on Dec. 1. … Walford is the team's rebounding lead with 64 (9.1 rpg), while Stokman leads the Johnnies in assists (27) and is tied with Colton Codute for the team lead in steals with 10 each. … Walford has amassed a team-leading 11 blocks through seven games. … The Johnnies have knocked down 66 3-pointers in seven games, led by Stokman with 23 and Baker with 19. … SJU is shooting 54.2 percent from the field (208-for-377), which is fourth in NCAA Division III, while leading the nation in 3-point shooting at 47.5 percent (66-for-139). SJU led Division III in shooting percentage (.513), was second from 3-point range (.423) and seventh from the free-throw line (.773) a year ago. … Saint John's 92 points against Hamline last Saturday marked the third time this season the Johnnies have scored 90 or more points. SJU netted 90 in a 90-55 win over Bethel on Nov. 28, while scoring a season-high 95 in a season-opening 95-54 win over UM-Morris on Nov. 12.