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 Wednesday, as the Cardinals host Hamline in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-3 MIAC, 6-4 Overall) vs. Hamline Pipers (3-2 MIAC, 6-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—December 29, 2018 * Chicago, Ill.: The Cardinals put four players in double figures — led by Caden Freetly's (Farmington, Minn.) career-high 19 points — as Saint Mary's closed out its nonconference schedule with a 76-67 win over North Park | Recap
• Hamline—December 15, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Pipers put four players in double figures, and outscored UW-River Falls 19-15 in the overtime period, as Hamline picked up its second straight win with an 88-84 victory over the Falcons at Hutton Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline — A Year Ago:
• January 20, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: Hamline raced out to an 11-0 lead and never looked back, as the Pipers dealt the Cardinals an 87-53 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Hutton Arena | Recap
• February 17, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: James Cullen (Western Springs, Ill.) tossed in a team-high 18 points and Brandon Retzlaff (Elroy, Wis.) chipped in eight in their final collegiate games, but their efforts were not enough, as Hamline used a big run to pull away from the Cardinals 98-72 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, returning to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 3 p.m. showdown against Augsburg.
• Hamline: The Pipers are back on the road on Saturday, heading across town to St. Thomas' Schoenecker Arena for a 3 p.m. conference matchup against the Tommies.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Wednesday's home game is the sixth in the last eight contests for the Cardinals, who are 2-3 on their home court this season. … With their 76-67 win over North Park last Saturday, 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 heads into Wednesday's game against Hamline having won three of its last four. … Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) scored a team- and game-high 19 points in the Cardinals' 76-67 win over North Park last Saturday. … Freetly was one of four Cardinals with 10 or more points vs. North Park last Saturday — Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) chipped in 15 points, while Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and Brady Stevens (St. James, Minn.) added 14 and 12 points, respectively. … Saint Mary's has now put four players in double figures in each of its last two games — and four times this season. … Rosner added a career-best 12 rebounds to his 15-point showing en route to his first collegiate double-double. … With his 14-point showing against North Park last Saturday, Cave — who leads the team with three double-doubles — has now scored 10 or more points in all 10 games this season — 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 was the first time this season the Cardinals had put two players over the 20-point barrier in the same game. … Cave scored 27 of his 29 points after halftime, while Anthony-Bello netted 17 of his 21 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Cardinals boast five 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), and David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn. / 19). … Anthony-Bello corralled a career-best 13 rebounds against Luther on Nov. 24. … Cave heads into Wednesday's conference matchup against Hamline averaging a team-best 20.5 ppg. Rosner (10.3 ppg) and Freetly (10.2 ppg) are also averaging in double figures through 10 games. … Along with his 20.5 ppg scoring average, Cave also leads the team in rebounds (76, 7.6 rpg) and assists (36). … Freetly (47, 4.7 rpg) and Anthony-Bello (45 / 5.0 rpg) have also collected 40 or more rebounds this season. … Bailey boasts a team-best 11 blocked shots — including three against Saint John's on Dec. 12 — while Anthony-Bello and Lindstrand lead the team with 10 steals, one more than Freetly. … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 43 percent from the field (257-for-594) and are 91-for-131 (70 percent) from the free throw line. … Saint Mary's has drained 109 3-pointers through 10 games — including a single-game record 14 against Gustavus on Dec. 5. … The Cardinals have knocked down 10 or more 3-pointers seven times this season — including each of their last four games. … Saint Mary's has six players with 10 or more 3-pointers this season — Freetly (21), Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 21), Cave (17), Rosner (16), 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 70.9 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 71.4 ppg clip … With their 86-81 win over Gustavus on Dec. 8, 10 of the Cardinals' last 12 games have been decided by 10 points or less. … 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. … 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. … 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. … Saint Mary's improved to 5-0 all-time against Martin Luther with its 79-63 win on Nov. 17.
 
Scouting The Hamline Pipers:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of three straight road games for the Pipers, who are still searching for their first win away from Hutton Arena this season (0-4). … Hamline enters Wednesday's showdown riding a two-game winning streak. The Pipers' latest two wins have been by a combined five points — Hamline beat Macalester 62-61 and outlasted UW-River Falls 88-84 in overtime. … After opening the season 1-2, Hamline has won five of its last seven contests. … Hamline put four players in double figures in its overtime win over UW-River Falls on Dec. 15 — led by Connor Knutson with 21 points. Ethan Scheuring added 18 points, followed by Jake Larson (16) and Isaac Brooks (15). … Brooks added 10 rebounds to his 15 points for his first double-double of the season. … Hamline enters Wednesday's MIAC matchup against Saint Mary's boasting four players who are averaging in double figures — Knutson (16.7 ppg), Scheuring (14.7 ppg), Brooks (13.8 ppg), and Larson (10.5 ppg). … Scheuring is the team's rebounding leader with 75 (7.5 rpg). … Hamline has had a player score 20 or more points in a game in eight of its 10 contests this season. Knutson has eclipsed the 20-point mark four times — including each of the Pipers' last two games — while Brooks and Scheuring have done it twice. … Scheuring owns Hamline's single-game season-high, pouring in 33 points against Northwestern on Nov. 15. … Scheuring is one of six Pipers with at least 30 rebounds through 10 games. … Larson has dished out a team-high 32 assists and also leads the team with 12 steals. … Brooks has posted a team-leading nine blocked shots, two more than both Knutson and Scheuring. … As a team, the Pipers are shooting 45 percent from the field (268-for-591), while hitting on 72 percent of their free throws (158-for-219). … Hamline has drained 70 3-pointers, led by Knutson with 23, Larson with 14, and Michael Dillon with 10. … Hamline is averaging 76.4 ppg, while the Pipers' opponents are scoring at a 73.9 ppg clip. … The Pipers have scored 80 or more points four times this season — but are just 2-2 in those four contests. HU beat North Central (80-53) and UW-River Falls (88-84), while falling to Crown (91-85) and Northwestern (91-89).