By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Monday, as the Cardinals entertain nationally ranked Saint John's in a 7 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-15 MIAC, 1-19 Overall) vs. Saint John's Johnnies (14-1 MIAC, 18-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 3, 2018 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Bethel scored 12 of the game's first 14 points and slowly pulled away in handing the Cardinals an 81-40 conference setback Saturday at Robertson Center Gym | Recap
• Saint John's—February 3, 2018 * Northfield, Minn.: St. Olaf raced out to a six-point halftime advantage and outscored the Johnnies 40-33 in the second half in dealing SJU its first conference loss, a 75-62 setback at Skoglund Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's—Earlier This Year:
• January 6, 2018 * Collegeville, Minn.: Saint John's shot 54 percent from the field—including a sizzling 63 percent in the second half—in dealing the Cardinals an 82-52 conference setback at Sexton Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's—A Year Ago:
• January 14, 2017 * Collegeville, Minn.: Saint Mary's put four players in double figures—led by Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) with 12—but the Cardinal offense could not match the firepower of Saint John's. The Johnnies shot 62 percent from the field—including draining 20 of 26 field goals in scoring 49 first-half points—as the Johnnies dealt the Cardinals a 94-74 Minnesota Intercollegiate setback at Sexton Arena | Recap
• February 18, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) and Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) did everything in their power to give themselves—and fellow seniors Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) and Chad Schlosser (Stillwater, Minn.)—the perfect senior send-off Saturday afternoon. Saint John's Patrick Strom, however, had to rain on their parade. Ferron and Smith-Pugh provided an explosive 1-2 offensive combination—scoring 22 and 16 points, respectively—but Strom proved to boast the knockout punch, scoring a game-high 30 points in lifting Saint John's to a 76-65 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over the Cardinals at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as Saint Mary's heads to Concordia's Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn., for a 5 p.m. showdown with the Cobbers.
• Saint John's: The Johnnies take to the road on Wednesday, heading to Carleton's West Gym in Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Knights
 
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, last Saturday's game at Bethel. The Cardinals have collected five of their last seven wins on their home court. … Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) scored a team-high 15 points—including 11 in the second half—to lead the Cardinals in scoring against Bethel last Saturday. … Anthony-Bello has now scored in double figures in back-to-back games—having netted 12 vs. St. Thomas last Monday. … Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.), who has led the Cardinals in scoring in two of their last three games, 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 Monday's matchup against nationally ranked Saint John's averaging a team-best 9.8 ppg, followed closely by Anthon-Bello (9.5 ppg) and Bailey (9.2 ppg). … Bailey is the team-leader in rebounds with 87 (4.4 rpg), three more than Anthony-Bello (84, 4.2 rpg). … Lindstrand boasts a team-high 40 assists. He is one of five players with 20 or more assists through 20 games—Bailey (33), Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill. / 28), Cullen (26), and Anthony-Bello (25) are the other four. … Anthony-Bello owns a team-high 25 steals, while Bailey (17) and Anthony-Bello (11) have accounted for 28 of the team's 42 blocked shots. … As a team, Saint Mary's has drained 124 3-pointers through 20 games, led by Cullen with 32 and Anthony-Bello with 31. … 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 39.4 percent from the field (448-for-1136), while knocking down 195 of their 282 free throws (69.1 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 Saint John's Johnnies:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Monday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of back-to-back road games for the Johnnies, who have suffered both of their losses away from Sexton Arena—dropping a 65-63 decision at UW-La Crosse on Nov. 22 and last Saturday's 75-62 setback at St. Olaf. … The Johnnies head to Saint Mary's ranked No. 4 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25. … Last Saturday's 75-62 loss to St. Olaf snapped the Johnnies' 16-game winning streak. … Saint John's can lock up a share of the MIAC regular-season title with a win over Saint Mary's and a St. Olaf loss to Augsburg Monday. … Tyler Weiss and Patrick Storm scored a team-high 13 points, while David Stokman chipped in 11 in the Johnnies' loss to St. Olaf last Saturday. … The Johnnies have now had a different player lead them in scoring in each of the last four games. … SJU shot a season-low 41.8 percent from the field (23-for-55), including 34.5 percent (10-for-29) from 3-point range. SJU is NCAA Division III's top shooting team at 52.4 percent and is second-best from behind the arc (41.4 percent). … The Johnnies head into Monday's game against Saint Mary's boasting four players—Weiss (16.3 ppg), Stokman (13.5 ppg), Jubie Alade (11.2 ppg), and Strom (10.2 ppg)—averaging in double figures. … Stokman owns the Johnnies' top three scoring performances this season, netting 25 against Bethel on Jan. 27, 26 vs. St. Thomas on Jan. 20, and a season-high 28 against Hamline on Dec. 13. … Lucas Walford is the team's rebounding leader with 181 (9.1 rpg), while Weiss has also eclipsed 100 rebounds this season, owning 143 boards (7.2 rpg). … Garrett Goetz has amassed a team-high 122 assists, while also owning the team lead with 13 steals. … Walford, who is second to Goetz with 12 steals, has accounted for 36 of the Johnnies' 83 blocked shots. … The Johnnies have drained 189 3-pointers this season, and have five players—Strom (53), Stokman (43), Oakley Baker (29), Goetz (22), and Alade (21)—with 20 or more treys this season. … Saint John's has knocked down 10 or more 3-pointers in a game 13 times—including each of its last four contests. … The Johnnies tossed in a season-high 14 3-pointers against UM-Morris on Nov. 29. … Saint John's, which is averaging 83.3 ppg, has scored 90 or more points four times this season—including three games of 100 or more points. SJU beat UM-Morris 110-79, and swept Macalester, winning 114-96 and 133-80. … The Johnnies' 133-point outburst against Macalester on Jan. 17 was a school record, surpassing the previous record of 121, set Dec. 15, 1978, in the Johnnies' 121-62 home win over George Williams (Wis.).