By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team is back on the road on Thursday, as the Cardinals head to St. Olaf's Skoglund Center for a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup against the Oles.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-11 MIAC, 7-12 Overall) at St. Olaf Oles (8-5 MIAC, 9-9 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 26, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals put a season-high five players in double figures and used an 11-1 game-ending run to pull away from Gustavus 79-64 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• St. Olaf—January 23, 2019 * The Oles could not overcome Gustavus' torrid shooting from the field, as the Gusties shot 56.0 percent from the field in downing St. Olaf 82-70 at Gus Young Court | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf — Earlier This Year:
• November 28, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals kicked off conference play by putting four players in double figures — not to mention rallying from a double-digit deficit — against St. Olaf at the Saint Mary's Gym. Unfortunately for Saint Mary's, one final, late-game push came up just short, as St. Olaf held off the hard-charging Cardinals in dealing SMU a 75-67 setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf — A Year Ago:
• December 13, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals put together a rock-solid offensive effort through the first half, shooting 46 percent from the field — and were still staring at a 20-point halftime deficit. St. Olaf erupted for 51 first-half points, shooting a sizzling 64.5 percent from the field — draining 20 of 31 attempts from the field, including seven 3-pointers — and never cooled off in dealing the Cardinals an 85-49 setback at Skoglund Center | Recap
• January 24, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Oles, who shot 64.5 percent from the field and knocked down seven 3-pointers in the first half of the teams' first meeting earlier this season, did that performance one better the second time around, draining 20 of their 30 first-half field goal attempts — including eight 3-pointers—in rolling to an 82-59 victory at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Saturday, heading to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown against the Auggies.
• St. Olaf: The Oles hit the road on Saturday, traveling to Concordia's Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference matchup against the Cobbers.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Thursday's game against St. Olaf is the first of three straight road games for the Cardinals, who play four of their final six games on the road. … The Cardinals put to rest another pair of long streaks with their 79-64 win over Gustavus last Saturday. Not only did Saint Mary's snap its season-high eight-game losing streak, but the Cardinals also completed the two-game MIAC sweep of the Gusties — something they had not done since the 1979-80 season, when SMU beat GAC 86-78 and 91-81. … Earlier this year, the Cardinals snapped a 19-game road losing streak with their season-opening 76-71 win at Crown on Nov. 10. Saint Mary's also 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 put a season-high five players in double figures against Gustavus last Saturday. Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) finished with a game-high 18 points, followed by Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill. / 14), Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 12), Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn. / 12), and Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 11). … Cave, who has led the Cardinals in scoring 12 times this season — has now scored 10 or more points in 18 of the team's 19 contests this season — including five games of 20 or more points. … 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 10 players who have posted single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Cave (35), Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 22), Anthony-Bello (21), Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 19), Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis. / 19), David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn. / 19), Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill. / 18), Jacob Chilson (Eau Claire, Wis. / 15), Nicolas Seaton (Lansing, Ill. / 12), and Brady Stevens (St. James, Minn. / 12). … Along with his 11 points against Gustavus last Saturday, Freetly also hauled in a game- and career-high 12 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double. … Rosner has also recorded his first collegiate double-double this season, scoring 15 points and adding a career-best 12 rebounds against North Park on Dec. 29. … Cave leads the team with three double-doubles — giving the Cardinals five for the season. Saint Mary's had just one double-double a year ago. … Cave heads into Thursday's conference matchup against St. Olaf averaging a team-best 17.7 ppg — ranking the sophomore No. 4 in scoring in the MIAC. … Gleason is second on the team in scoring at 9.7 ppg, followed by Rosner (9.5 ppg) and Freetly (8.2 ppg). … Along with his 17.7 ppg scoring average, Cave also leads the team in rebounds (129, 6.8 rpg) and assists (68). … Freetly (91, 4.8 rpg) and Rosner (63, 3.7 rpg) have also collected 60 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 leads the team in steals with 16 steals, one more than Rosner. … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 42.3 percent from the field (472-for-1115) and are 177-for-250 (70.8 percent) from the free throw line. … Saint Mary's has drained 173 3-pointers — 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 nine times this season. … Saint Mary's has six players with 10 or more 3-pointers this season — Gleason (35), Rosner (31), Freetly (29), Cave (22), 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) in their first meeting against Gustavus on Dec. 8. … Saint Mary's is averaging 68.1 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 74.7 ppg clip … The Cardinals have scored 70 or more points in each of their seven wins this season — including a season-high 86 points against Gustavus on Dec. 8. … The Cardinals' top two scoring performances this year were both against Gustavus. Along with their season-high 86 points in their first meeting, the Cardinals netted 79 in last Saturday's 79-64 win over the Gusties. … 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 St. Olaf Oles:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Thursday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth home game in the last five contests for the Oles, who are in the midst of playing seven of nine contests at Skoglund Center — where St. Olaf is 4-3. … Austin Korba scored a team-high 19 points in the Oles' loss to Gustavus last Wednesday, while Dominic Bledsoe and Nate Albers also finished in double figures with 14 points each. … With his 15^th point against the Gusties last Wednesday, Korba became the 22^nd Ole since the 1972-73 season to reach the 1,000 career point mark. … St. Olaf enters Thursday's home matchup against Saint Mary's boasting three players — Korba (17.4 ppg), Troy Diggins Jr. (10.3 ppg), and Bledsoe (10.2 ppg) — who are averaging in double figures. … Korba also owns the team lead with 125 rebounds, while Diggins Jr. is just three boards shy of hitting 100 rebounds for the season. … St. Olaf has recorded four double-doubles this season — three by Korba and one by Diggins Jr. … St. Olaf has four players who have dished out 30 or more assists through 18 games, led by Korba and Diggins Jr. with 40 each, and Bledsoe with 39. … Bledsoe is also the team-leader in steals with 33 and Frank Delaney has amassed a team-best 19 blocked shots. … St. Olaf is shooting 42.3 percent from the field (440-for-1041) and has knocked down 218 of 335 free throw attempts (65.1 percent). … St. Olaf owns 130 3-pointers, with Korba (25), Bledsoe (23), Diggins Jr. (19), Albers (18), and Delaney (11) all knocking down 10 or more treys. … St. Olaf is averaging 68.2 ppg, just percentage points less than its opponents, who are scoring at a 69.1 ppg clip. … The Oles have scored 80 or more points three times this season — and are just 1-2 in those three contests. St. Olaf beat Bethany Lutheran 81-68 on Nov. 24, while falling to both George Fox (91-88) and Augsburg (96-89) — both in overtime.