By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals play host to Macalester in a 3 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-7 MIAC, 6-8 Overall) vs. Macalester Scots (0-9 MIAC, 3-11 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 9, 2019 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals dropped a heartbreaker to Carleton, as the Knights scored 11 of the game's final 14 points in dealing Saint Mary's a 74-71 conference setback at West Gym | Recap
• Macalester—January 9, 2019 * Northfield, Minn.: St. Olaf outscored the Scots 36-16 through the game's opening 20 minutes and the Oles never took their foot off the accelerator, routing Macalester 71-39 at Skoglund Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester — A Year Ago:
• January 13, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Scots found their stride within the game's opening 10 minutes and erupted for 62 first-half points in dealing the Cardinals a 116-87 MIAC setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 10, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: Saint Mary's failed to convert on any of its final three field goal attempts in dropping a heartbreaking, 81-80 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference decision to Macalester at Leonard Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals take to the road on Wednesday, heading to Concordia's Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference matchup against the Cobbers.
• Macalester: The Scots are back on the road on Wednesday, traveling to Gustavus' Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC showdown against the Gusties.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Following Saturday's showdown against Macalester, the Cardinals play their next three games on the road. Saint Mary's is 4-3 in its seven road games this season. … The Cardinals' 74-71 loss to Carleton Wednesday marked the ninth time in 14 games that they have scored 70 or more points in a game. The Cardinals have scored 70 or more points in each of their six wins this season — including a season-high 86 points against Gustavus on Dec. 8. … Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) scored a team-high 19 points in Saint Mary's 74-71 loss to Carleton Wednesday. Gleason's 19 points were one shy of his collegiate high. … Gleason was one of four Cardinals to score in double figures against the Knights Wednesday — Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis. / 13), Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill. / 12), and Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 12) were the other three. … Saint Mary's has now put four players in double figures in a game five times this season. … Hill scored a career-high 18 points — all in the game's final 12 minutes — to lead the Cardinals in scoring against Bethel last Monday. It was the third straight game in which a Cardinal posted a career-high performance to lead the team in scoring. Nicolas Seaton (Lansing, Ill.) tallied a career-best 12 points — also all in the second half — to pace Saint Mary's against Augsburg last Saturday, while Jacob Chilson (Eau Claire, Wis.) delivered a career-high 15-point showing against Hamline on Jan. 2. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) was held to six points against Carleton, marking the first time in Saint Mary's 14 games that the sophomore has not scored in double figures. Cave, who owns a team-leading three double-doubles, has posted 13 games of 10 or more points — including 20 or more points four times. … Cave poured in a season- and career-high 35 points in the Cardinals' nonconference win over Martin Luther on Nov. 17. … Cave's 35-point effort was the highest single-game performance since Michael Burfeind netted 38 against Concordia on Dec. 7, 2011. … Cave and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) each eclipsed the 20-point barrier against Gustavus on Dec. 8 — Cave tossed in a game-high 29 points, while Anthony-Bello chipped in a career-best 21. It's the lone time this season the Cardinals have put two players over the 20-point barrier in the same game. … Cave scored 27 of his 29 points against Gustavus after halftime, while Anthony-Bello netted 17 of his 21 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Cardinals boast nine players who have posted single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Cave (35), Anthony-Bello (21), Freetly (19), Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis. / 19), David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn. / 19), Hill (18), Chilson (15), Seaton (12), and Brady Stevens (St. James, Minn. / 12). … Rosner scored 15 points and added a career-best 12 rebounds against North Park on Dec. 29 en route to his first collegiate double-double. … Anthony-Bello corralled a career-best 13 rebounds against Luther on Nov. 24. … Cave heads into Saturday's conference matchup against Macalester averaging a team-best 17.8 ppg — ranking the sophomore No. 4 in scoring in the MIAC. … Gleason is second on the team in scoring at 9.9 ppg, followed by Rosner (9.3 ppg) and Freetly (8.5 ppg). … Along with his 17.8 ppg scoring average, Cave also leads the team in rebounds (102, 7.3 rpg) and assists (49). … Freetly (65, 4.6 rpg), Anthony-Bello (45 / 5.0 rpg), and Rosner (42, 3.5 rpg) have also collected 40 or more rebounds this season. … Bailey boasts a team-best 11 blocked shots — including a season-high three against Saint John's on Dec. 12 — while Freetly and Chilson share the team lead with 11 steals, one more than Lindstrand and Anthony-Bello. … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 41.8 percent from the field (350-for-838) and are 121-for-183 (66.1 percent) from the free throw line. … Saint Mary's has drained 138 3-pointers through 14 games — including a single-game school-record 14 against Gustavus on Dec. 5. … The Cardinals have knocked down 10 or more 3-pointers in a game eight times this season. … Saint Mary's has six players with 10 or more 3-pointers this season — Gleason (30), Freetly (24), Rosner (21), Cave (18), Rosner (18), Anthony-Bello (12), and Bailey (10). … Saint Mary's set single-game season-highs in points (86), FGM (32), FGA (72), 3FGM (14), 3FGA (37), assists (22) and steals (9) against Gustavus on Dec. 8. … Saint Mary's is averaging 68.5 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 74.1 ppg clip … The Cardinals have put an end to three lengthy losing streaks already this season. The Cardinals snapped a 19-game road losing streak with their season-opening 76-71 win at Crown on Nov. 10. Saint Mary's ended a 27-game conference losing streak with a 71-64 win over Concordia on Dec. 5, and, three days later, SMU halted a 35-game road losing streak against Gustavus, beating the Gusties 86-81. It was Saint Mary's first win in St. Peter, since beating GAC 86-82 in overtime during the 1982-83 season. … With their 76-67 win over North Park on Dec. 29, the Cardinals closed out the nonconference portion of their schedule with a 4-1 mark — the lone loss, a 70-60 setback against UW-La Crosse on Nov. 11. … Saint Mary's 3-1 start to the season was its best since the 2010-11 season, when the Cardinals opened 8-1. … With their 76-71 win over Crown on Nov. 10, the Cardinals have now won their season-opener in each of their last five seasons. … Saint Mary's season-opening win over Crown on Nov. 10 was the first collegiate coaching victory for Cardinal head coach Joe Fano.
 
Scouting The Macalester Scots:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of four straight road games for the Scots, who are 3-8 away from Leonard Center this season. … Wednesday's 71-39 loss to St. Olaf pushed the Scots' losing streak to four straight. Macalester is 1-9 in its last 10 games — the lone win, a 65-61 victory over Northland on Dec. 30. … Two of Macalester's three wins this season have been by four points — a 65-61 win over Northland and a 75-71 victory vs. Northwestern — while the Scots' other victory was an eight-point, 72-64 victory over North Central. … Jackson Henningfield was the lone Scot to score in double figures against St. Olaf Wednesday, netting 12 points. … Henningfield, who has scored 10 or more points in a game 12 times this season — including six games of 20 or more points — heads into Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's boasting a team-leading 18.0 ppg scoring average. … Henningfield — who poured in a season-high 32 points in the Scots' season-opening win over North Central — ranks third in the MIAC in scoring average. … Wyatt Fern is also averaging in double figures for the Scots at 12.8 ppg, followed by Eric Sathy (8.6 ppg) and Nikhill Smith (7.3 ppg). … Fern has amassed a team-leading 131 rebounds (9.4 rpg). Henningfield (92, 6.6 rpg) and Gabriel Ramos (64, 4.6 rpg) have also hauled in more than 60 rebounds this season. … Macalester boasts three players with 20 or more assists — Fern (49), Ramos (29), and Smith (26) — while Fern also leads the team with 20 steals. … Henningfield (18) and Fern (14) have combined for 32 blocked shots. … The Scots are shooting 41.3 percent from the field (311-for-753) and have hit on 119 of 168 free throw attempts (70.8 percent). … The Scots have knocked down 108 3-pointers, led by Henningfield (32) and Sathy (23). … As a team, the Scots are averaging 60.6 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 75.0 ppg clip. … Macalester scored a season-high 83 points in a 97-83 loss to Crown on Nov. 15. The Storm's 97 points were also the most allowed by the Scots this season.