By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Concordia in a 7 p.m. showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-2 MIAC, 3-3 Overall) vs. Concordia Cobbers (0-1 MIAC, 1-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—December 1, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Carleton scored eight of the game's final 10 points, as the Knights dealt the Cardinals a 60-55 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Concordia—December 1, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: Hamline outscored the Cobbers 43-37 in the second half, pulling away for a 78-68 win over Concordia in the teams' conference-opener at Hutton Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia — A Year Ago:
• January 8, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Concordia held off a furious Cardinal push in the game's final minutes to deal Saint Mary's a heartbreaking, 67-64 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 7, 2018 * Moorhead, Minn.: For the second straight meeting, the Cobbers survived the Cardinals' late second-half rally — not to mention Sawyer Rosner's (Phelps, Wis.) career-high 23 points — to deal Saint Mary's an 86-77 setback at Memorial Auditorium | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: After five straight home games, the Cardinals hit the road on Saturday, heading to Gustavus' Gus Young Court for a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown against the Gusties.
• Concordia: The Cobbers are back on the road on Saturday, traveling to Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference matchup against Augsburg.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Wednesday's matchup against Concordia is the fifth straight home game for the Cardinals. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) — coming off a 20-point performance against St. Olaf on Nov. 28 — scored a team-high 15 points against Carleton last Saturday. … Along with his team-best 15 points, Cave also equaled a career-high with 12 rebounds vs. the Knights en route to his second collegiate double-double. Cave recorded his first career double-double against Luther on Nov. 24, scoring 19 points and adding 12 rebounds. … With his 15-point effort against Carleton last Saturday, Cave has now scored 10 or more points in all six of the Cardinals' games this season — including 20 or more points three 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. … Saint Mary's has had three players post single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Cave (35), Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis. / 19), and Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 15). … Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) enjoyed a career day vs. Luther on Nov. 24, corralling a career-best 13 rebounds. … Cave heads into Wednesday's conference showdown against Concordia averaging a team-best 21.2 ppg. … Cave is one of three Cardinals averaging in double figures through six games — Freetly (10.7 ppg) and Gleason (10.3 ppg) are the other two. … Along with his 21.2 ppg scoring average, Cave also leads the team in rebounds (47, 7.8 rpg) and assists (21). … Anthony-Bello (37 / 6.2 rpg) and Freetly (36, 6.0 rpg) have also collected 20 or more rebounds this season. … Bailey boasts a team-best seven blocked shots, while Jacob Chilson (Eau Claire, Wis.) leads the team with six steals, one more than both Cave and Freetly. … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 41 percent from the field (145-for-350) and are 61-for-81 (71 percent) from the free throw line. … Saint Mary's has drained 60 3-pointers through six games. … The Cardinals knocked down 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 12 3-pointers, one more than Gleason and Cave. … Saint Mary's and its opponents are averaging 68.5 ppg. … With their 60-55 loss to Carleton last Saturday, eight of the Cardinals' last nine games have been decided by 10 points or less. … Saint Mary's put four players in double figures against St. Olaf last Wednesday. 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 three wins this season — including a season-high 79 points against Martin Luther on Nov. 17 — 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the sixth of seven straight road games to open the season for the Cobbers, who are 1-4 away from Memorial Auditorium this season. … Last Saturday's 78-68 loss to Hamline pushed the Cobbers' losing streak to three straight. … Thomas Schyma scored a team-high 14 points to lead three Cobbers in double figures against Hamline last Saturday. Bryden Urie (13) and Jacob Fredrickson (10) were the other two. … Urie heads into Wednesday's matchup against Saint Mary's owning a team-leading 11.4 ppg scoring average, while Jordan Davis and Schyma are also averaging in double figures at 10.6 ppg. … Concordia boasts three players with 20 or more rebounds — Davis (33, 6.6 rpg), John Reiten (26, 5.2 rpg), and Urie (22, 4.4 rpg). … Schyma has dished out a team-high 23 assists, while also leading the team in steals (7) and blocked shots (5). … As a team, the Cobbers ­— who are averaging 69.6 ppg — are shooting 43 percent from the field (136-for-317) and 61 percent (36-for-59) from the free throw line. … Concordia has drained 40 3-pointers through five games, led by Adam Daggett with nine, Davis with six, and Urie, Schyma, and Collin Larson with five each. … The Cobbers have scored 70 or more points twice this season — beating Oak Hills Christian 79-60 on Nov. 17 and falling to UM-Morris 81-80. … CC surrendered a season-high 94 points in falling to UM-Crookston 94-65 on Nov. 18.