By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
DECORAH, Iowa — The Saint Mary's University and Luther men's basketball team put on a shooting clinic Saturday afternoon in the teams' nonconference game at Regents Center Gym.
 
The Cardinals boasted five players in double figures — including 27 points from Eli Cave (St. paul, Minn.) and 26 from Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) — and shot a sizzling 52.1 percent from the field, while the Norse also had five double-figure scorers and hit 54.1 percent from the field.
 
The difference?
 
A 14-8 Cardinal scoring advantage in the game's five-minute overtime period, as Saint Mary's erupted for a season-high 103 points in outlasting the Norse 103-97.
 
Luther took control early, scoring the game's first nine points — on three consecutive 3-pointers — but the Cardinals came storming back, getting back-to-back 3-pointers by Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) on consecutive possessions to give Saint Mary's a 36-32 advantage. Five straight points from Anthony (Chicago, Ill.), and a and-one by Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla.), kept the Cardinals out front, 43-36, with 3:19 to play.
 
Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) knocked down a 3-pointer to give Saint Mary's its largest lead of the half, 46-38 with less than three minutes to play, but Luther scored nine of the final 14 points of the half to make it a four-point game, 51-47, heading into the second half.
 
The Cardinals appeared to take control to open the second half, building three double-digit leads — including an 11-point, 76-65 edge with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
 
But the Norse would not throw in the towel.
 
Luther got eight points from Garrian Wade to fuel a 10-2 run that cut the Cardinal lead to two, 82-80 with 3:48 to play. Luther continued to whittle away at the Saint Mary's lead, eventually grabbing the lead, 88-87 on a Gage Thompson 3-point play with 36 seconds on the clock. The Cardinals missed on their next trip down the court and were forced to foul. Ethan Ilunga made the first of two free throws for an 89-87 Luther lead, but missed the second, and Anthony knocked down a jumper in the waning seconds to knot the game at 89-89 ­— and send it into overtime.
 
Anthony-Bello delivered an OT-opening 3-pointer to put the Cardinals out front — and Saint Mary's would not relinquish the lead, outscoring Luther 14-8 in the five-minute extra session to lock up its third win in four games this season.
 
Cave and Anthony proved to be a lethal 1-2 combination for the Cardinals, scoring 27 and 26 points, respectively for the Cardinals, who finished with five players in double figures. Along with Cave and Anthony — whose efforts were both season-highs — Saint Mary's also got 15 points from Rosner, 13 from Martin and 11 from Anthony-Bello.
 
Saint Mary's hit on 37 of 71 field goal attempts for its 52.1 field goal percentage — including knocking down 10 of 23 3-point attempts — while adding a 19-for-26 effort from the free throw line. Luther was equally as deadly from the field, shooting nailing 33 of 61 attempts from the field for its 54.1 percent showing with 11 3-pointers and a 21 of 29 showing from the charity stripe.
 
The Cardinals (3-1 overall) return to MIAC play next Saturday, entertaining Concordia in a 1 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym. The Norse (4-3 overall) are right back in action on Monday, heading to McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa, for a 6 p.m. exhibition game against the University of Northern Iowa.