By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — A year ago, the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team put a number of lengthy streaks to rest.
 
Saturday afternoon, the Cardinals were at it again.
 
The Cardinals put five players in double figures — led by Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) with 21 points and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) with 14 — and snapped a 12-game losing streak against St. Olaf with an 80-74 victory at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Cardinals — who had not beaten St. Olaf since a 66-57 win on Jan. 16, 2013 in Northfield, Minn. — carried the momentum early, racing out to a 20-10 lead through the game's opening nine minutes, but the Oles clawed their way back, taking their first lead, 33-32 on a pair of free throws by Noah Beck 2:51 to play before halftime.
 
Beck followed with a fade-away jumper to give St. Olaf its largest lead of the half, 35-32, but Saint Mary's responded with six unanswered points on back-to-back 3-pointers by Shawn Pickford (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.), and held a one-point, 38-37 advantage heading into the break.
 
St. Olaf regained the lead, scoring the first seven points of the second half for a 44-38 cushion, and the Oles clung to the lead until Cave scored with 7:30 remaining to give Saint Mary's a 62-61 lead.
 
The two teams took turns playing with the lead for the next five minutes — and found themselves deadlocked at 72-72 with 2:40 showing on the clock.
 
Over those last two-plus minutes, Saint Mary's scored eight of the final 10 points — including a clutch 3-pointer by Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) to give the Cardinals the lead for good, and three free throws from Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) and two from Gleason — to seal the win.
 
Along with Cave and Gleason, Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) and Pickford each chipped in 11 points and Rosner finished with 10. The Cardinals shot 52 percent from the field (30-for-58) and drained 10 3-pointers, while also going 10-for-14 from the free throw line.
 
Beck and Nate Albers each scored 17 points to pace the Oles, who went 24-for-52 from the field (46 percent) with six 3-pointers, and were 20-for-25 from the line.
 
The Cardinals (1-0 MIAC, 2-0 overall) are right back on their home court at the Saint Mary's Gym on Tuesday, as Saint Mary's entertains nationally ranked Saint John's in a 7 p.m. conference contest. The Oles (0-1 MIAC, 3-2 overall), meanwhile, hit the road again on Tuesday, heading to Bethel's Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC contest against the Royals.