By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team officially kicks off the 2019-20 season on Friday, as the Cardinals host Crown in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2018-19: 8-17 Overall) vs. Crown Storm (1-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — November 2, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) netted a team-high 16 points and Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 12, but it was not enough, as Saint Mary's dropped an 84-67 decision to NCAA Division II Winona State in an exhibition game at McCown Gym | Recap
• Crown — November 13, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Storm picked up their first win of the season, getting a 32-point performance from Timothy Wendel in an 83-80 nonconference win over Hamline | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Crown — Their Last Meeting:
• November 10, 2018 * St. Bonifacius, Minn.: Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) drained a clutch, 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining in regulation, breaking a 71-71 deadlock and sparking the Cardinals to a season-opening 76-71 win — and earning Joe Fano his first collegiate head coaching win | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are off until Nov. 23, when they kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a 1 p.m. home contest against St. Olaf at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Crown: The Storm are back on the road on Wednesday, heading to Storm Lake, Iowa, for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against Buena Vista.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2018-19 Final Statistics
• The Cardinals closed out their first season under head coach Joe Fano with an 8-17 overall mark a year ago — the most wins since going 9-16 during the 2015-16 campaign — and were picked seventh in the MIAC Preseason Coaches Poll. … Saint Mary's season-opening win over Crown on Nov. 10 was the first collegiate coaching victory for Fano. … Five of Saint Mary's eight wins a year ago came on the road — the Cardinals finished 3-8 at home and 5-9 away from the Saint Mary's Gym. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) — a Second-Team All-MIAC selection a year ago — closed out the year as the team's scoring leader, averaging 19.6 ppg. … Cave's 19.6 ppg average was not only tops for the Cardinals, but also ranked the sophomore second in the conference. … Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) also closed out the year averaging in doubles figures at 10.2 ppg, followed by Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 9.6 ppg) and Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 9.4 ppg). … Cave scored a career-high 36 points — including 21 in the first half — in the Cardinals' 86-69 win over Macalester on Feb. 9. Cave scored 30 or more points twice this season, having netted a then-career-high 35 points against Martin Luther on Nov. 17. … In his last three outings of the season, Cave scored 29, 36, and 23 points — including 53 of those 88 points in the game's opening 20 minutes. … Cave's 36-point effort against Macalester on Feb. 9 was the highest single-game performance since Chris Palmer scored 37 against Bethel on Dec. 6, 2010. … Cave led or shared the team lead in scoring 17 times and scored 10 or more points in 24 of the team's 25 contests — including 10 games of 20 or more points. … Cave closed out the season with six double-doubles — including a 36-point, 12-rebound effort against Macalester and a 23-point, 10-rebound showing against No. 6 St. Thomas in the Cardinals' final two games of the year. … Saint Mary's had two players score 20 or more points in the same game three times last season. Cave netted 23 and Freetly added a career-best 21 against Hamline on Feb. 4; Cave and Rosner each finished with 24 points against St. Olaf on Jan. 24; and Cave and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) recorded 29 and 21 points, respectively, against Gustavus on Dec. 8. … The Cardinals boasted 11 players who posted single-game career-highs of 10 or more points last season. … Along with their single-game career highs in points, Rosner and Freetly also recorded their first two collegiate double-doubles last season. … Cave was not only the team's scoring leader, but he also owned the team lead in both rebounds (177, 7.1 rpg) and assists (93). … Freetly (132, 5.3 rpg) and Rosner (99, 4.3 rpg) also collected 90 or more rebounds a year ago. … Freetly finished his freshman season with a team-best 21 blocked shots and also led the team in steals with 21, one more than Rosner. … As a team, the Cardinals shot 43.4 percent from the field (647-for-1490) and were 247-for-333 (74.2 percent) from the free throw line. … The Cardinals were a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line against Bethel on Feb. 6, marking the second time Saint Mary's had not missed in 13 chances last season — SMU was also 13-for-13 against Concordia on Jan. 16. … The Cardinals posted season-highs with 23 free throws in 26 attempts against Macalester on Feb. 9. … Saint Mary's drained a single-season school record 233 3-pointers — including a single-game school-record 14 against Gustavus on Dec. 5. The 233 treys are 44 more than the previous record of 189, set during the 1995-96 season. … The Cardinals knocked down 10 or more 3-pointers in a game 13 times. … Saint Mary's had eight players finish the year with 10 or more 3-pointers, led by Rosner (44), Freetly (43), Gleason (42), and Cave (34). … Saint Mary's averaged 71.0 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents scored at a 76.8 ppg clip … After scoring more than 80 points just once in their first 19 games, the Cardinals scored 85, 80, 83, 86, and 81 points in five of their last six contests. … The Cardinals scored 70 or more points in each of their eight wins— including a season-high 86 points against both Gustavus on Dec. 8 and Macalester on Feb. 9. … Saint Mary's put a season-high five players in double figures against Gustavus on Jan. 26. … Eleven of the Cardinals' 17 losses were decided by 10 points or less, including three of their last five decided by five points or less — a five-point 90-85 overtime loss to St. Olaf on Jan. 31, a three-point, 68-65 loss to Hamline on Feb. 4 and a five-point, 88-83 setback vs. Bethel on Feb. 6. … The Cardinals' 90-85 loss to St. Olaf on Jan. 31 was their only overtime game of the season — and first since dropping a 111-106 OT decision to Augsburg on Jan. 11, 2017. … The Cardinals put to rest a pair of long streaks with their 79-64 win over Gustavus on Jan. 26. 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 in 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. … 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.
 
Scouting The Crown Storm:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2018-19 Final Statistics
• Friday's game at Saint Mary's is the second of three straight road games for the Storm. … Saint Mary's is the third consecutive game against a team from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for the Storm, who lost to Bethel 100-82 on Nov. 9 and beat Hamline 83-80 four days later. … Wendel heads into Friday's matchup against the Cardinals averaging 31.5 ppg. He is one of three Storm averaging in double figures, being joined by Gunnar Ledin (21.0 ppg) and Torry Ledin (10.5 ppg). … Wendel also leads the team with 25 rebounds (12.5 rpg), while Zach Skorik — who dished out nine assists against Hamline on Wednesday — is the team-leader with 11 helpers. … As a team, Crown is showing 49.6 percent from the field (63-for-127) and has knocked down 15 3-pointers. … Wendel, Torry Ledin, and Sawyer Lawhon have all knocked down four 3-pointers, while Gunnar Ledin has accounted for the other three. … The Storm have scored more than 80 points in each of their first two games (82 vs. Bethel and 83 vs. Hamline). On the flip side, Crown has also allowed 80 or more points in each of its first two games (100 vs. Bethel and 80 vs. Hamline).