By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — In their last two games, the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team found themselves staring at early first-half deficits — 9-0 at Luther and 6-0 vs. Concordia.
 
Wednesday evening, the Cardinals decided to take a different approach to the game's opening minutes — with very favorable results.
 
Saint Mary's scored the game's first seven points — and 12 of the first 14 — and cruised to their third Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win of the season, a 75-59 win over Macalester at Leonard Center Wednesday evening.
 
Despite their quick 12-2 advantage, the Cardinals could not shake the Scots, who clawed their way back to take a pair of one-point leads — 23-22 and 25-24 — with less than four minutes remaining in the opening half.
 
That, however, would be the last time the Cardinals would play from behind.
 
Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) converted a three-point play to put Saint Mary's back in front, 27-25, and the Cardinals would push their advantage to five, 34-29, at the intermission.
 
Leading by four, 39-35, early in the second half, the Cardinals took control, scoring 11 unanswered points for a commanding, 50-35 cushion with 12:54 to play. The Scots cut the Saint Mary's lead to six, 57-51 with 6:21 on the clock, but that would be as close as they would get, as the Cardinals outscored Macalester 16-8 over those final six minutes to seal the win.
 
Cave led the way for the Cardinals — winners of three straight — scoring 18 points, while Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) and Jacob Chilson (Eau Claire, Wis.) each chipped in 10 points, and Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) missed his third consecutive double-double by one point, finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Cardinals shot 48.3 percent from the field (28-for-58) with five 3-pointers, while adding a 14-for-24 showing from the free throw line. Macalester, meanwhile, went 23-for-61 from the field (37.7 percent) and drained six 3-pointers, while finishing 7-for-11 from the charity stripe.
 
Jacob Henningfield netted 15 points and Eric Sathy and Shane Anderson added 11 and 10 points, respectively, in the losing effort for the Scots.
 
The Cardinals (3-1 MIAC, 5-1 overall) are now off until Dec. 19, when they step out of conference play for a 7 p.m. home showdown against Martin Luther at the Saint Mary's Gym. The Scots (1-4 MIAC, 4-6 overall) are now off until Jan. 4, when they kick off the new year with a road game at Carleton. Opening tip in Northfield, Minn., is set for 1 p.m.