By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals travel to Concordia's Memorial Auditorium for a 5 p.m. showdown with the Cobbers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-16 MIAC, 1-20 Overall) at Concordia Cobbers (3-13 MIAC, 5-16 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 5, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Saint John's erupted for 50 first-half points, and the Cardinals never recovered in falling to the fourth-ranked Johnnies 79-46 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Concordia—February 5, 2018 * Moorhead, Minn.: Gustavus scored the game's final three points—including a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer—as the Gusties dealt the Cobbers a heartbreaking 69-67 MIAC setback at Memorial Auditorium | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—Earlier This Year:
• 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
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—A Year Ago:
• December 3, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's got double-figure scoring from both Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) and Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.), but could not overcome a cold-shooting second half, as Concordia handed the Cardinals their first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference loss of the season, 82-67, Saturday afternoon at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• January 21, 2017 * Moorhead, Minn.: Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) enjoyed his most productive offensive performance in a Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball uniform against Concordia. Unfortunately, Saint Mary's could not parlay Romportl's career-high 22-point effort into a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory, as Concordia held off a furious late rally in dealing the Cardinals a 73-68 setback at Memorial Auditorium | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as Saint Mary's travels to Macalester's Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. showdown with the Scots.
• Concordia: After three straight home games, the Cobbers hit the road for their next two contests, beginning Saturday, when CC heads to Northfield, Minn., for a 1 p.m. matchup against Carleton.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Monday's game against Saint John's was the fourth home game in the last five contests for the Cardinals. Saint Mary's has collected five of their last seven wins on their home court. … Wednesday's game against Concordia is the first of three straight road games for the Cardinals, who do not play at home again until their season-finale against Hamline on Feb. 17. … Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis.) scored a team-high 10 points for the Cardinals in their 79-46 loss to fourth-ranked Saint John's Monday. The Cardinals, who struggled to find their shooting touch vs. the Johnnies—hitting just 15 of 55 field goal attempts (28.3 percent)—also got six points from both Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) and Evan Huntley (Elk River, Minn.). … The Cardinals have had a different player lead them in scoring in each of the their last three games—Rosner netted a team-leading 14 points against St. Thomas on Jan. 29, while Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) scored a team-high 15 points—including 11 in the second half—against Bethel last Saturday and Bailey tossed in 10 points against Saint John's Wednesday. Rosner scored a 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—James Cullen (Western Springs, Ill.) poured in a 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—Cullen (24), Rosner (20), Bailey (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 Wednesday's matchup at Concordia averaging a team-best 9.5 ppg, followed closely by Anthon-Bello (9.2 ppg) and Bailey (9.2 ppg). … Bailey is the team-leader in rebounds with 92 (4.4 rpg), two more than Anthony-Bello (90, 4.3 rpg). … Lindstrand boasts a team-high 41 assists. He is one of five players with 20 or more assists through 21 games—Bailey (33), Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill. / 30), Cullen (28), and Anthony-Bello (26) 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 46 blocked shots. … As a team, Saint Mary's has drained 127 3-pointers through 21 games, led by Cullen with 33 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 38.9 percent from the field (463-for-1191), while knocking down 208 of their 301 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight home game for the Cobbers, who are 2-8 on their home floor this season, while going 3-8 away from Memorial Auditorium. … Monday's 69-67 loss to Gustavus pushed the Cobbers' losing streak to three straight. Since facing Saint Mary's in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 8, Concordia is just 2-8. … Concordia has suffered through two five-game losing streaks this season—snapping the first with a 67-64 win over Saint Mary's on Jan. 8, while ending the second with a 100-81 win over Macalester on Jan. 27. … Collin Larson scored a team-high 20 points to lead three Cobbers in double figures against Gustavus Monday. Jordan Davis chipped in 11 points and Mason Carpenter finished with 10. … Larson's 20-point effort against Gustavus Monday marked the seventh time this season the Cobbers have had a player score 20 or more points. Larson has done it three times (20, 20, and 24), while Thomas Schyma (20), Bryden Urie (21), and Kevin Wolfe (25) have each done it once. … Larson heads into Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's as the team's offensive leader, averaging 12.2 ppg. Schyma is second with a 9.8 ppg scoring average. … Austin Heins has hauled in a team-high 94 rebounds (4.5 rpg), followed by Jacob Pazdernik with 83 (4.0 rpg). … The Cobbers boast four players—Larson (52), Urie (45), Schyma (39), and Pazdernik (37)—with 30 or more assists, while Larson has amassed a team-best 16 steals. … Pazdernik and Jordan Davis share the team lead in blocked shots with 15. … With his four 3-pointers against Gustavus Wednesday, Larson has pushed his team lead to 47—tying the junior for 16^th all-time in made 3-pointers in a single season. Larson needs 10 more to climb into the Top 10. The Concordia all-time record for 3-pointers in a season is 94 set by Jason Sorenson in 1996. … As a team, the Cobbers have knocked down 147 3-pointers and are shooting 38.4 percent (147-for-383) from behind the arc. … The Cobbers are averaging 67.6 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 77.9 ppg clip. … CC has scored 80 or more points three times this season—including a season-high 100-point effort in a 100-81 win over Macalester on Jan. 27. … The last time CC dropped 100 points in a game was in 2016 in a triple overtime win over Gustavus. The last time the Cobbers hit the century mark in a non-overtime game was in 2005—a 105-79 win over Augsburg. … The Cobbers' last three 100-point performances have all come on their home court.