By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PETER, Minn. — It's been a streak-snapping kind of year for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team.
 
The Cardinals put an end to a 19-game road losing streak with a season-opening 76-71 win over Crown on Nov. 10.
 
Last Wednesday, Saint Mary's snapped a 27-game conference losing streak, beating Concordia 71-74.
 
And the Cardinals were at it again on Saturday, ending yet another lengthy slide — this one a 35-game losing streak at Gustavus — as Saint Mary's rode the lethal one-two punch of Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) and Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) to an 86-81 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win.
 
"To do something we haven't done in 35 years is very special — not only for our team, but for all the players before us who wore the Saint Mary's jersey," said Saint Mary's coach Joe Fano, whose Cardinals had not won at Gustavus since the 1982-83 season, beating the Gusties 86-82 in overtime at GAC's Myrum Fieldhouse. "Today was truly a team win, where many different guys stepped up and made big plays.
 
"I am really excited and proud to coach these guys."
 
Anthony-Bello carried the Cardinals on his shoulders in the opening half — scoring 17 of his 21 points in the game's opening 20 minutes. The Cardinal sophomore knocked down 5 of 8 first-half 3-pointers to help Saint Mary's keep pace with the high-powered Gusties.
 
The Cardinals held a 33-29 lead with just over a minute remaining in the opening half, only to have Gustavus rattled off nine unanswered points to take a 38-33 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
With Anthony-Bello doing his fair share of the work in the game's opening 20 minutes, the sophomore handed over the offensive reigns to Cave — who poured in 27 of his game-high 29 points after the break.
 
The Cardinals — with Cave leading the charge — came out red-hot in the second half, turning that five-point deficit into a 49-48 lead with 14:50 remaining in regulation. Saint Mary's built the lead to as many as six, 60-54 on a Cave field goal, only to have Gustavus use a 13-7 run to regain the lead 67-66.
 
Saint Mary's took the lead for good, 78-76, on a Cave 3-pointer and some clutch free throws down the stretch helped the Cardinals to the streak-ending victory.
 
Cave finished 11-for-18 from the field — including 4 of 7 from behind the 3-point line — while going 3-for-6 from the free throw line en route to his 29 points. Anthony-Bello, meanwhile, was 8-for-14 with five 3-pointers to account for his career-high 21 points. Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) also scored in double figures for the Cardinals, finishing with 11 points.
 
Saint Mary's shot 44 percent from the field (32-for-72) with a season-high 14 3-pointers, while Gustavus hit on 51 percent of its field goals (28-for-55), but was just 5 of 16 from behind the arc.
 
Malo Nolan led a trio of Gusties in double figures, finishing with 24 points, followed by Riley Sharbono with 18 and Spencer Tollefson with 11.
 
The Cardinals (2-2 MIAC, 5-3 overall) return home to the Saint Mary's Gym on Wednesday, as Saint Mary's hosts Saint John's in a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup.