By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
CHICAGO, Ill. — It was a homecoming of sorts for Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball coach Joe Fano Saturday afternoon as his Cardinals squared off against North Park.
 
After all, the Cardinals' first-year head coach spent the previous two seasons as the Vikings' associate head coach.
 
And "home" was oh so sweet for Fano — and the Cardinals.
 
The Cardinals, fueled by a career-high 19 points from Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.), raced out to a 16-point halftime lead and held off a late second-half North Park rally en route to a 76-67 nonconference victory.
 
The Cardinals owned the game's opening 20 minutes, shooting 66 percent — and draining 10 of 15 3-pointers — in building a 16-point, 42-26 lead after 20 minutes of play.
 
A layup by Jacob Chilson (Eau Claire, Wis.) equaled Saint Mary's 16-point lead at 44-28, early in the second half, but North Park would spend the rest of the half whittling away at the Saint Mary's lead — getting to within six, 71-65 with just over a minute remaining in regulation.
 
The two teams would trade baskets, giving Saint Mary's a 73-67 lead with less than 50 seconds remaining — and a free throw by David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn.) and two more by Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) would seal Saint Mary's sixth win of the season.
 
Freetly was one of four Cardinals to finish in double figures, with Rosner (15), Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn. / 14), and Brady Stevens (St. James, Minn. / 12) also scoring 10 or more points. Rosner also hauled in a career-best 12 rebounds en route to his first collegiate double-double. The Cardinals shot a sizzling 61 percent from the field (28-for-46) — including a 13-for-23 effort from behind the 3-point line — while also going 7-for-11 from the free throw line.
 
Matt Szuba scored a team-high 17 points for North Park (4-9 overall), while Jake Ellis chipped in 16 and Toby Marek added 12. The Vikings finished 24-for-65 from the field with 12 3-pointers and a 7 of 13 effort from the charity stripe.
 
The Cardinals (6-4 overall) 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.