By ALEX NUEHRING
Saint Mary's Sports Information Intern
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team honored their two seniors, James Cullen (Western Springs, Ill.) and Brandon Retzlaff (Elroy, Wis.), before their final home game—and the duo came up big in their final collegiate games.
 
Cullen tossed in a team-high 18 points and Retzlaff chipped in eight, but their effort was not enough, as Hamline used a big run to pull away from the Cardinals in dealing Saint Mary's a 98-72 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) kicked things off on a positive note for the Cardinals, scoring the game's first five points for a 5-0 Saint Mary's lead.
 
Hamline answered with a run of its own, scoring six unanswered points—capped by a dunk by Dylan See-Rockers—for a 6-5 Piper lead.
 
The game of runs continued, as Saint Mary's responded with their own 6-0 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer by Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.), to give the Cardinals an 11-6 lead.
 
Hamline used yet another run—this one a 17-6 burst—to make it a 23-17 HU advantage. The Cardinals trimmed the Pipers' lead to five points, 36-31, by scoring seven of the next nine points—fueled by a 3-pointer by Anthony-Bello.
 
Hamline, however, closed out the half by scoring the final six points—including  a 3-pointer at the buzzer, to take a 42-31 lead into the locker room.
 
And the Pipers picked up right where they left off to open the second half, scoring the first five points—and 26 of the first 34 to take control, 68-39 just five minutes into the period.
 
In the final minutes, Saint Mary's trimmed the Piper's lead to 25—thanks to inspired play by their two seniors. Retzlaff made two 3-pointers and Cullen made his last collegiate 3-pointer as a Cardinal to make it, 95-70, with a minute left in the game.
 
Cullen's 18 points led  three Saint Mary's players in double figures, with Anthony-Bello scoring 14 points and grabbing five rebounds, while Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis.) added 10 points.
 
Zach Smith led Hamline with 24 points, while senior Nicholas Powell scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds in his final MIAC game.