By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to Bethel's Robertson Center Gym for a 1 p.m. showdown with the Royals.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-14 MIAC, 1-18 Overall) at Bethel Royals (9-6 MIAC, 14-6 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 29, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: St. Thomas erupted for 19 unanswered points to open the second half, and the Cardinals could not recover, falling to the Tommies 100-48 in an MIAC contest at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Bethel—January 31, 2018 * Northfield, Minn.: St. Olaf outscored the Royals 40-33 in the second half, as the Oles dealt Bethel a 75-68 conference setback at Skoglund Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—Earlier This Year:
• December 9, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's struggled getting its offense on track—and the Royals opened the contest red-hot, scoring the game's first 16 points—as Bethel dealt the Cardinals an 81-60 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• December 7, 2016 * Arden Hills, Minn.: For the second time this season, Saint Mary's eclipsed the 80-point barrier—erupting for 82 points in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest against Bethel. Unlike their season-opening, 84-50 rout of Martin Luther, however, surpassing the 80-point mark was not enough to earn the Cardinals a victory against the high-powered Royals. Bethel erupted for 53 first-half points—and its offense never cooled off—as the Royals dealt the Cardinals a 99-82 setback at Robertson Center Gym | Recap
• February 8, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: When Saint Mary's and Bethel squared off in their first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meeting in early December, the Royals erupted for 53 first-half points in handing the Cardinals a 99-82 setback. And when the Cardinals took the court for the teams' rematch, they were determined to write a different ending. Bethel, however, seemed content to have the sequel be a mirror image of the first meeting, as the Royals again scored 53 first-half points and kept its offense shifted into overdrive—shooting 71 percent from the field in the second half—in dealing the Cardinals a 101-69 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Monday, hosting Saint John's in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Bethel: The Royals return home to Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., on Wednesday, entertaining Hamline in a 7 p.m. conference showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Saint Mary's is in the midst of playing four of five games on their home court—the lone exception, Saturday's game at Bethel. The Cardinals have collected five of their last seven wins on their home court. … For the second game in a row, Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) led the Cardinals in scoring Monday against St. Thomas, netting 14 points—including 12 in the first half. Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) also scored in double figures vs. the Tommies, finishing with 12. … Rosner scored a team- and career-high 20 points in the Cardinals' 87-68 loss to Carleton on Jan. 17. … With his 20-point showing against Carleton on Jan. 17, Rosner became the second Cardinal to reach the 20-point plateau this season—Cullen poured in a team-, season- and career-best 24 points against Martin Luther on Nov. 15. … Along with his 14 points against Concordia-Chicago on Nov. 25, Anthony-Bello also hauled in a career-best 11 rebounds en route to his first collegiate double-double—and the Cardinals' first double-double of the season. … The Cardinals boast eight players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season—James Cullen (Western Springs, Ill. / 24), Rosner (20), Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis. / 18), Anthony-Bello (16), David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn. / 15), Brady Stevens (St. James, Minn. / 12), Christian Oliveras (Bolingbrook, Ill. / 11), and Kristjan Meitz (Waukesha, Wis. / 10). … Rosner enters Saturday's matchup at Bethel averaging a team-best 10.2 ppg, while Bailey (9.6 ppg) and Anthony-Bello (9.2 ppg) are averaging more than nine points. … Bailey is the team-leader in rebounds with 82 (4.3 rpg), three more than Anthony-Bello (79, 4.2 rpg). … Lindstrand boasts a team-high 39 assists. He is one of five players with 20 or more assists through 19 games—Bailey (32), Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill. / 28), Cullen (26), and Anthony-Bello (24) are the other four. … Anthony-Bello owns a team-high 22 steals, while Bailey (15) and Anthony-Bello (11) have accounted for 26 of the team's 42 blocked shots. … As a team, Saint Mary's has drained 120 3-pointers through 19 games, led by Cullen with 32 and Anthony-Bello with 28. … The Cardinals equaled their season high with 10 3-pointers against Concordia on Jan. 8. Saint Mary's also knocked down 10 3-pointers in their first meeting with Gustavus on Nov. 29. … The Cardinals are shooting 40 percent from the field (432-for-1078), while knocking down 191 of their 272 free throws (70 percent). … The Cardinals put a season-high five players in double figures in their 86-76 loss to Concordia-Chicago on Nov. 25. … The Cardinals' 87 points in their 116-87 MIAC loss to Macalester on Jan. 13 marked the second time this season Saint Mary's has eclipsed the 80-point barrier. The Cardinals scored 89 points in a season-opening 89-75 win over Martin Luther on Nov. 15. … The Cardinals' 89 points vs. Martin Luther marked their highest offensive performance of the season, and the most points scored since erupting for 106 points in a 111-106 loss to Augsburg on Jan. 11. The 106 points were just four shy of the school-record 110 points, set against UM-Duluth during the 1952-53 season. … The Cardinals scored 80 or more points four times last season. … With their 89-75 win over Martin Luther on Nov. 15, the Cardinals have now opened their season with a win in each Bethel enters Saturday's showdown against Saint Mary' their last four seasons—including back-to-back years with season-opening victories over the Knights.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home games for the Royals, who are 4-3 on their home court, while going 10-3 away from Robertson Center. … Wednesday's 75-68 loss to St. Olaf was Bethel's second straight setback—BU dropped an overtime thriller, 84-80, to fourth-ranked Saint John's last Saturday. … Four of Bethel's six losses this season have been by seven points or less—including a four-point, OT loss to No. 4 Saint John's, a three-point setback vs. St. Thomas, and a one-point loss to St. Olaf in the teams' first meeting. … Granger Kingland and Riley Dearring each scored 15 points and Matt Ambriz chipped in 11 in the Royals' loss to St. Olaf on Wednesday. … Bethel enters Saturday's showdown against Saint Mary's boasting six players—Kingland (14.5 ppg), Ambriz (13.5 ppg), Dearring (12.3 ppg), Bridgeport Tusler (11.2 ppg), Jack Jenson (11.1 ppg), and Derek Magnuson (10.8 ppg)—who are all averaging in double figures. … Kingland owns the team's highest single-game offensive performance of the season, scoring 27 points against St. Thomas on Dec. 6. … Magnuson and Kingland are the team's rebounding leaders with 129 (6.5 rpg) and 121 (6.4 rpg) boards, respectively. … Seven Royals have dished out 20 or more assists through 20 games, led by Tusler (75), Jenson (57), and Tim Hanson (41). … Tusler is also the team's steals leader with 39, while Magnuson (15), Kingland (13), and Jenson (12) have all recorded 10 or more blocked shots. … Jenson and Magnuson are the only players to have started all 20 games for the Royals this season. … As a team, the Royals are shooting 50.0 percent from the field (592-for-1178) and have hit on 173 of their 458 3-point attempts (37.8 percent). … Kingland (53), Ambriz (52), and Dearring (40) have accounted for 145 of the team's 173 3-pointers. … As a team, the Royals are averaging 79.6 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 70.2 ppg clip. … Bethel has scored 80 or more points nine times this season—including eight of their 14 wins. … BU netted a season-high 113 points in beating Macalester 113-64 on Jan. 22.