By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team is back in conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals host Augsburg in a 3 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-4 MIAC, 6-5 Overall) vs. Augsburg Auggies (3-2 MIAC, 7-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 2, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's — coming off a 76-67 win over North Park last Saturday — could not cool off the hot-shooting Pipers early on, as Hamline outscored the Cardinals 31-12 in the final 12 minutes of the opening half and never looked back in dropping SMU 76-57 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Augsburg—January 2, 2019 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Auggies shot a season-low 35.5 percent from the floor, as No. 19 Saint John's dealt Augsburg a 78-58 conference setback at Si Melby Hall | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg — A Year Ago:
• December 2, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg had its offense cranked into high gear, as the Auggies erupted for 52 first-half points and Saint Mary's could not keep pace in falling 93-74 at Si Melby Hall | Recap
• January 27, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals could not contain the Auggies' balanced — and high-powered — offensive attack, as Augsburg dealt Saint Mary's a 96-62 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back in action on Monday, heading to Bethel's Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference matchup against the Royals.
• Augsburg: The Auggies return to action — and are back on the road — on Monday, traveling to Gustavus' Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC showdown with the Gusties.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Saturday's home game against Augsburg is the seventh in the last nine contests for the Cardinals. … Saint Mary's heads into Saturday's game against Augsburg having won three of its last five. … 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. … Jacob Chilson (Eau Claire, Wis.) led a trio of Cardinals in double figures against Hamline Wednesday, scoring a career-high 15 points, while Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) chipped in 13 and Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) added 12. … With his 12-point showing against Hamline Wednesday, Cave, who leads the team with three double-doubles, has now scored 10 or more points in all 11 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 seven 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), Chilson (15), and Brady Stevens (St. James, Minn. / 12). … Saint Mary's has put four players in double figures four times this season. … Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) 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 Augsburg averaging a team-best 19.7 ppg. Gleason is also averaging in double figures at 10.1 ppg, followed by Freetly (9.7 ppg) and Rosner (9.1 ppg). … Along with his 19.7 ppg scoring average, Cave also leads the team in rebounds (82, 7.5 rpg) and assists (40). … Freetly (50, 4.5 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 42 percent from the field (277-for-654) and are 100-for-149 (67 percent) from the free throw line. … Saint Mary's has drained 117 3-pointers through 10 games — including a single-game school-record 14 against Gustavus on Dec. 5. … The Cardinals have knocked down 10 or more 3-pointers seven times this season. … Saint Mary's has six players with 10 or more 3-pointers this season — Gleason (24), Freetly (22), 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 … 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 Augsburg Auggies:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Saturday's game at Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back road games for the Auggies, who are 3-2 on the road this season. … Last Wednesday's 78-58 loss to No. 19 Saint John's was the Auggies' second straight setback — both by 20 or more points. Augsburg lost to Loras 89-66 in its final game before the holiday break on Dec. 15. … Augsburg's current two-game losing streak marks the first time this season the Auggies have dropped back-to-back games. On the flip side, Augsburg's seven wins this season come during winning streaks of four and three games. … Booker Coplin, who leads the MIAC in scoring this season, netted a team-high 23 points against Saint John's on Wednesday, going 11 of 18 from the floor. … Kevin McKieman also scored in double figures vs. the Johnnies Wednesday, netting 12 points. … Booker enters Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's boasting a 24.9 ppg scoring average. He is one of two Auggies' averaging in double figures — McKieman (11.9 ppg) is the other. … Coplin owns the Auggies' five top single-game scoring performances, including 26 points against Ottawa University, 28 against both Northland and Concordia, 32 against Bethel, and a season-best 37 vs. Redlands. … Coplin owns four of the Auggies' five double-doubles this season. McKieman has the other. … Along with his 24.9 ppg scoring average, Booker also leads the team in rebounds with 91 (9.1 rpg). Matt Carik (42, 4.2 rpg) and McKieman (38, 3.8 rpg) have also hauled in 30 or more rebounds this season. … Carik is the team's assist leader with 38 — one more than Booker, who also boasts a team-best 22 steals and six blocked shots. … The Auggies are shooting 45 percent from the field (284-for-627) and 75 percent from the free throw line (123-for-165). … The Auggies have drained 99 3-pointers through 10 games, led by McKieman with 24 and Henry Mulligan with 23. … The Auggies are averaging 79.0 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 72.8 ppg clip. … Augsburg has scored 80 or more points in five of its 10 games — including eclipsing the 90-point barrier twice. The Auggies netted 91 points in a 91-XX win over Northland on Nov. 10, while tossing in a season-high 99 in dropping UM-Morris 99-XX on Dec. 11.