By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
CHICAGO, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team steps out of conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to North Park Gymnasium for a 4 p.m. nonconference game against North Park.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-4 Overall) at North Park Vikings (4-8 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—December 12, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals had their two-game winning streak snapped, as No. 19 Saint John's knocked down 20 of their final 27 first-half field goal attempts in dealing Saint Mary's an 87-70 MIAC setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• North Park—December 19, 2018 * River Forest, Ill.: The scored 10 of the first 13 points in building a 10-point halftime lead, as North Park cruised to a 72-58 nonconference win over Dominican | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. North Park — Their Last Meeting:
• December 30, 2014 * Chicago, Ill.: In just the second meeting in program history, North Park used a 17-0 run in a five-minute span midway through the second half to pull away in handing Saint Mary's an 88-75 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, returning home to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. matchup against Hamline.
• North Park: The Vikings return to North Park Gymnasium on Wednesday, as North Park entertains Illinois Wesleyan in a 7 p.m. CCIW contest.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Saturday's game against North Park is just the second road game in the last eight contests for the Cardinals. … Saint Mary's 87-70 loss to No. 19 Saint John's on Dec. 12 snapped their two-game winning streak. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.), who was named MIAC Athlete of the Week on Dec. 10 — after averaging 24.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg in the Cardinals' two conference games the previous week — scored a team-high 16 points in Saint Mary's loss to 19^th-ranked Saint John's on Dec. 12. Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) chipped in 12 points vs. the Johnnies, and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis.) each added 11. … Saint Mary's has now put four players in double figures three times this season. … Cave and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) each eclipsed the 20-point barrier against Gustavus on Dec. 8 — 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. … With his 16-point showing against Saint John's on Dec. 12, Cave has now scored 10 or more points in all nine 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 on Dec. 8, Anthony-Bello became 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 on Dec. 5, 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 Saturday's nonconference matchup against North Park averaging a team-best 21.2 ppg. Gleason is also averaging in double figures through nine games, sitting at 10.3 ppg. … Along with his 21.2 ppg scoring average, Cave also leads the team in rebounds (68, 7.6 rpg) and assists (29). … Anthony-Bello (45 / 5.0 rpg) and Freetly (44, 4.9 rpg) have also collected 40 or more rebounds this season. … Bailey boasts a team-best 11 blocked shots — including three against Saint John's on Dec. 12 — while Anthony-Bello leads the team with 10 steals, one more than Freetly. … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 42 percent from the field (229-for-548) and are 84-for-120 (70 percent) from the free throw line. … Saint Mary's has drained 96 3-pointers through nine games — including a single-game school-record 14 against Gustavus on Dec. 5. … Saint Mary's has six players with 10 or more 3-pointers this season — Gleason (20), Cave (17), Freetly (17), Rosner (13), Anthony-Bello (12), and Bailey (10). … 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 on Dec. 8. … Saint Mary's is averaging 70.9 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 71.4 ppg clip … With their 86-81 win over Gustavus on Dec. 8, 10 of the Cardinals' last 12 games have been decided by 10 points or less. … The Cardinals have scored 70 or more points in each of their five wins this season — including a season-high 86 points against Gustavus on Dec. 8. … The Cardinals have put an end to three lengthy losing streaks already this season. The Cardinals snapped a 19-game road losing streak with their season-opening 76-71 win at Crown on Nov. 10. Saint Mary's ended a 27-game conference losing streak with a 71-64 win over Concordia on Dec. 5, and, three days later, SMU  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. … Saint Mary's 3-1 start to the season 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 North Park Vikings:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of three straight home games for the Vikings, who are just 1-3 at North Park Gymnasium this season. … With their 72-58 win over Dominican on Dec. 19, North Park heads into its showdown with Saint Mary's having won two of its last three games. After opening the season with five straight losses, the Vikings are 4-3 in their last seven contests. … The Vikings put three players in double figures — and had three others with nine points — in their 72-58 win over Dominican on Dec. 19. Toby Marek led the way for North Park vs. the Stars, scoring 15 points, while Izaiah Sanders added 14 and Matt Szuba finished with 11. … Marek has now led the team in scoring four times, sharing the team lead with Szuba. … Szuba also hauled in a team-best 12 rebounds against Dominican on Dec. 19 for his fourth double-double of the season. … Szuba recorded a rare 20-20 double-double against Waynesburg on Nov. 25, scoring 24 points and pulling down 21 rebounds. … The Vikings head into Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's boasting three players who are averaging in double figures — Marek (12.6 ppg), Vegard Tangen (11.3 ppg), and Szuba (11.2 ppg). … North Park has had a player score 20 or more points in a game five times this season. Kindrel Morris (25) has done it once, while Szuba (24, 23) and Marek (28, 29) have each done it twice. … Szuba is also the team-leader in rebounds with 108 (9.0 rpg), while also boasting team-highs in steals (13) and blocked shots (12). … Morris has dished out a team-best 30 assists, followed by Marek with 28 and Szuba with 20. … The Vikings are shooting 40 percent from the field (308-for-759, while also shooting 77 percent from the free throw line (160-for-207). … North Park has drained 86 3-pointers through 12 games, led by Szuba with 22. Tangen (12), Morris (10), Marek (10), and Jake Ellis (10) have also recorded 10 or more 3-pointers this season. … The Vikings, who are averaging 71.8 ppg, have scored 80 or more points three times this season — including a season-high 113-point showing against Greenville on Nov. 17. On the flip side, North Park's opponents, who are averaging 82.8 ppg, have scored more than 85 points in a game five times — including 153 points by Greenville in the Panthers' 153-113 win over the Vikings on Nov. 17.