By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — For the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team, Tuesday's matchup against No. 14 Saint John's turned out to be a numbers game.
 
From the field, the Cardinals were every bit as good — if not better — than the Johnnies. Saint Mary's knocked down 20 field goals, including nine 3-pointers, compared to the Johnnies' 17 field goals and six treys.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the numbers from the free throw line didn't lie, either.
 
Saint John's knocked down 37 of 44 free throws — while the Cardinals hit on just 14 of 21 — as the Johnnies dealt the Cardinals their first loss of the season, a 77-63 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Cardinals drained a pair of 3-pointers — one by Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and the other by Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) in jumping out to an early 6-4 lead. The Johnnies, however, responded with seven unanswered points and built leads as big as six twice, only to have the Cardinals claw their way back, taking a one-point, 21-20 lead on a Shawn Pickford (Minneapolis, Minn.) basket with 7:10 remaining before halftime.
 
Saint John's scored seven of the final 10 points of the half, taking a three-point, 27-24 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
Gleason drained another three and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) delivered a steal and a dunk to pull the Cardinals even, 33-33, early in the second half, but the Johnnies — who went to the free throw line 35 times in the second half — slowly pulled away, leading by as many as 17 before settling for the 77-63 victory.
 
Cave tossed in a team- and game-high 23 points for the Cardinals on 7 of 11 shooting ­from the field — including a pair of 3-pointers — and a 9-for-11 effort from the free throw line. Antony-Bello also finished in double figures for the Cardinals, chipping in 11 points.
 
Saint Mary's shot 38.5 percent from the field (20-for-52) with nine 3-pointers and converted on 14 of 21 free throws. The Johnnies — who got 21 points from Jubie Alade and 19 from Zach Hanson — went 17-for-47 from the field (36.2 percent) with six 3-pointers, and made their most of their trips to charity stripe with their 37-for-44 showing
 
The Cardinals (1-1 MIAC, 2-1 overall) step out of conference play on Saturday, heading to Decorah, Iowa, for a 3 p.m. matchup against Luther. The Johnnies (2-0 MIAC, 4-1 overall) are now off until Dec. 4, when they return to Sexton Arena in Collegeville, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference showdown with Concordia