By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team returns to conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals head to Macalester's Leonard Center for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Scots.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-1 MIAC, 4-1 Overall) at Macalester Scots (1-3 MIAC, 4-5 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — December 7, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Fueled by a stifling defense — and four players in double figures — the Cardinals had little trouble dispatching of the visiting Cobbers, rolling to a 69-54 win | Recap
• Macalester — December 7, 2019 * Leonard Center * St. Paul, Minn.: Jackson Henningfield scored his 1,000th career point, but it was not enough to stop Bethel, as the Royals handed the Scots a 79-57 conference setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester — A Year Ago:
• January 12, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Wyatt Ferm knocked down a fade-away jumper with 0.7 seconds remaining in regulation to lift Macalester to a 75-74 MIAC win over the Cardinals | Recap
• February 9, 2019 * Leonard Center * St. Paul, Minn.: Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) put the Cardinal offense on his back — scoring a career-high 36 points — as he ignited a 46-point second-half outburst in leading the Cardinals to an 86-69 conference win over the Scots | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals 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.
• Macalester: The Scots 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.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Last Saturday's game against Concordia was the fourth home game of the season for the Cardinals — who play five of their first seven contests at the Saint Mary's Gym. … With their 69-54 win over Concordia last Saturday, the Cardinals have now won two straight and four of their first five — the lone loss a 77-63 setback at the hands of nationally ranked Saint John's. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) scored a team-high 15 points for the Cardinals against Concordia last Saturday, while Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 14, and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) each finished with 11. … Cave has now led the team in scoring in all five of their games this season. … Along with his 11 points, Anthony also hauled in a team-leading 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double. … Anthony — who scored a career-high 26 points and added a career-best 11 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double against Luther on Nov. 30 — owns both of the Cardinals' double-doubles this season. … The Cardinals put five players in double figures in their 103-97 overtime win over Luther on Nov. 30. It was the second time in five games this season that Saint Mary's has had five players score 10 or more points in the same game. … Cave scored a game-high 27 points, while Anthony chipped in a career-best 26 against Luther on Nov. 30 — marking the first time this season the Cardinals have had to players with 20 or more points in the same. Saint Mary's achieved that feat three times a year ago. … Cave has eclipsed the 20-point barrier four times this season and 14 times in his collegiate career. … Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla.) scored a career-high 13 points against Luther on Nov. 30. … Cave enters Wednesday's conference game at Macalester leading the team in scoring, averaging 22.0 ppg — third in the MIAC. … Anthony (11.8 ppg) and Anthony-Bellow (10.4 ppg) are also averaging in double figures heading into the Macalester game. … Fueled by his 10 boards against Macalester last Saturday, Anthony leads the team with 37 rebounds (7.4 rpg), 11 more than Cave, and assists (16). … Cave is the team-leader with nine blocks and 11 steals. … Saint Mary's, which drained a single-season school record 233 3-pointers last season — including a single-game school-record 14 against Gustavus on Dec. 5 — has knocked down 10 or more 3-points in a game three times, including a season-high 11 against Crown on Nov. 15. … Cave owns a team-best 17 3-pointers, followed by Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) with 11, and Anthony-Bello with nine. … As a team, Saint Mary's is 141-for-304 (.462) from the field — including 48-for-123 (.390) from behind the arc — and is 53-for-80 (.663) from the free throw line. … The Cardinals' 103-point effort in beating Luther 103-97 on Nov. 30 was their highest single-game offensive output since pouring in 106 points in a 111-106 overtime loss to Augsburg on Jan. 11, 2017. … The Cardinals have scored 80 or more points in a game eight times in the last two seasons. … The Cardinals' 77-63 loss to No. 14 Saint John's on Nov. 26 snapped their season-opening two-game winning streak. … With its 80-74 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 23, Saint Mary's snapped a 12-game losing streak against the Oles. It was the Cardinals' first win over St. Olaf since Jan. 16, 2013, when Saint Mary's posted a 66-57 victory. … With their 68-52 win over Crown Nov. 15, the Cardinals have now beaten Crown in their season-opener in back-to-back years — Saint Mary's season-opening win over Crown a year ago was the first collegiate coaching victory for Joe Fano. … Thanks to its 68-52 win over Crown on Nov. 15, Saint Mary's is now 6-0 in its last six season-openers.
 
Scouting The Macalester Scots:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the second straight home contest for the Scots, who are 2-2 on their home court this season. … The Scots' 79-57 loss to Bethel last Saturday was their second straight setback. Macalester dropped a 64-35 decision to fifth-ranked St. Thomas last Wednesday. … Jackson Henningfield scored 23 points and Gabriel Ramos added 15 in Macalester's loss to Bethel last Saturday. … With his first field goal against Bethel last Saturday, Henningfield became the 23rd player in Macalester program history to reach 1,000 career points. … Macalester enters Wednesday's home contest against Saint Mary's boasting three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Henningfield (19.1 ppg), Ramos (13.9 ppg), and Eric Sathy (11.7 ppg). … Henningfield also owns the team lead in rebounds with 80 (8.9 rpg), followed by Shane Anderson with 69 boards (7.7 rpg) and Ramos with 54 (6.0 rpg). … Ramos boasts team-highs in assists (46) and steals (7), while Anderson has amassed a team-best 14 blocked shots. … Ramos (19), Sathy (17), and Henningfield (16) have accounted for 52 of the Scots' 71 3-pointers through nine games. … As a team, Macalester is shooting 43.5 percent from the field (228-for-524), while going 74-for-103 from the free throw line. … Macalester, which is averaging 66.7 ppg, has scored 70 or more points in four of its nine games this season, including a season-high 92-point effort in beating Crown 92-85 on Nov. 21. … The Scots have been held to their two lowest offensive outputs of the season in their last two games, managing a season-low 35 points in falling to No. 5 St. Thomas, while netting 57 in last Saturday's loss to Bethel.