By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team is back in conference play on Monday, as the Cardinals head to Bethel's Robertson Center for a 7 p.m. showdown against the Royals
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-5 MIAC, 6-6 Overall) at Bethel Royals (3-3 MIAC, 6-5 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 5, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: Augsburg rained down 17 3-pointers, as the Auggies pulled away from the Cardinals in dealing Saint Mary's an 88-56 MIAC setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Bethel—January 2, 2019 * Arden Hills, Minn.: St. Olaf outscored the Royals 38-24 in the second half, putting an end to Bethel's three-game winning streak with a 63-54 conference win at Robertson Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
• December 9, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's struggled getting its offense on track, and the Royals opened the contest red-hot — knocking down 8 of 10 field goals for a quick 16-0 lead — as Bethel dealt the Cardinals an 81-60 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 3, 2018 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Bethel scored 12 of the game's first 14 points and slowly pulled away in handing the Cardinals an 81-40 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back on the road on Wednesday, heading to Carleton's West Gym in Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup against the Knights.
• Bethel: After four straight home games, the Royals take to the road on Wednesday, traveling to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference tilt against the Auggies.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Monday's game against Bethel is the first of back-to-back road games for the Cardinals, who play five of their next six contests away from the Saint Mary's Gym. … Nicolas Seaton (Lansing, Ill.) scored a career-high 12 points — all in the second half — to pace the Cardinals against Augsburg last Saturday. … Seaton's career-high effort marked the second straight game in which a Cardinal posted a career-high performance to lead the team in scoring. Jacob Chilson (Eau Claire, Wis.) netted a career-best 15 points in the Cardinals' loss to Hamline on Jan. 2. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) also finished in double figures against the Auggies last Saturday, netting 11 points. … With his 11-point showing against Augsburg last Saturday, Cave, who leads the team with three double-doubles, has now scored 10 or more points in all 12 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 eight players who have posted single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Cave (35), Anthony-Bello (21), Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 19), Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis. / 19), David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn. / 19), Chilson (15), Seaton (12), 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 Monday's conference matchup against Bethel averaging a team-best 19.0 ppg, followed by Gleason (9.5 ppg), Rosner (9.1 ppg), and Freetly (8.9 ppg). … Along with his 19.0 ppg scoring average, Cave also leads the team in rebounds (87, 7.3 rpg) and assists (44). … Freetly (53, 4.4 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 a season-high three against Saint John's on Dec. 12 — while Anthony-Bello, Freetly and Lindstrand share the team lead with 10 steals. … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 41.5 percent from the field (299-for-720) and are 109-for-162 (67.3 percent) from the free throw line. … Saint Mary's has drained 120 3-pointers through 12 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 seven times this season. … Saint Mary's has six players with 10 or more 3-pointers this season — Gleason (25), Freetly (22), Cave (17), Rosner (17), 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 68.9 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 73.1 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. … 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. … Saint Mary's improved to 5-0 all-time against Martin Luther with its 79-63 win on Nov. 17.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Monday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth straight home game for the Royals, who are 4-2 at Robertson Center this season. … Last Wednesday's 63-54 loss to St. Olaf snapped Bethel's three-game winning streak. … BU has lost back-to-back games just once this season, falling to UW-La Crosse (69-64) and Saint John's (90-55) in a four-day span in late November. … Derek Magnuson and Matt Ambriz each scored in double figures for Bethel against St. Olaf last Wednesday, with Magnuson pouring in 17 points, while Ambriz added 10. … Magnuson also delivered a season-high 14 rebounds against the Oles for his sixth double-double of the season. … Bethel enters Monday's conference matchup against Saint Mary's boasting four players with double-figure scoring averages, led by Magnuson at 16.3 ppg. Jack Jenson (14.8 ppg), Granger Kingland (14.7 ppg), and Ambriz (11.6 ppg) are the other three Royals averaging 10 or more points-per-game. … Magnuson is also the team-leader in rebounds with 93 (9.3 rpg), while Kingland (84, 7.6 rpg) and Jenson (53, 4.8 rpg) have also hauled in 50 or more rebounds through 11 games. … Bethel boasts six players with 10 or more assists, led by Tyler Barker (51), Jenson (32), and Kingland (21). … Jenson owns the team lead in steals with 18 and Kingland has posted a team-leading 10 blocked shots. … As a team, the Royals are shooting 44 percent from the field (281-for-640) and 74 percent (159-for-215) from the free throw line. … Bethel has drained 87 3-pointers, led by Ambriz with 23 and Kingland with 22. … The Royals are averaging 73.4 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 72.7 ppg clip. … Bethel has scored 70 or more points seven times, including three games of 80 or more points. BU netted 80 in a 91-80 loss to UW-Stout, hit 90 in edging Augsburg 90-84, and poured in a season-high 100 in beating Crown 100-79. … Bethel has scored 70 or more points in all six of its wins.