By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team returns to conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals square off against Concordia in a 1 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1 MIAC, 3-1 Overall) vs. Concordia Cobbers (0-2 MIAC, 2-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — November 30, 2019 * Regents Center Gym * Decorah, Iowa: The Cardinals put five players in double figures — including 27 from Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and 26 from Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) — en route to a 103-97 nonconference win over Luther | Recap
• Concordia — December 4, 2019 * Sexton Arena * Collegeville, Minn.: The Cobbers went 2-for-13 in the first 11 minutes of the first half, and were outscored 16-0 at the start of the second half, as No. 12 Saint John's dealt CC a 66-41 conference setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia — A Year Ago:
• December 5, 2018 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals got 19-point performances from both Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn.) as Saint Mary's snapped a 27-game conference losing streak with a 71-64 win over the Cobbers | Recap
• January 16, 2019 * Memorial Auditorium * Moorhead, Minn.: The Cobbers raced out to a 14-point halftime lead — and held off a furious Cardinals second-half rally — in dealing Saint Mary's a 67-60 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Wednesday, traveling to Macalester's Leonard Center for a 7 p.m. MIAC showdown with the Scots.
• Concordia: The Cobbers return home to Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn., on Wednesday, entertaining Carleton in a 5 p.m. conference tilt.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Concordia is the fourth home game of the season for the Cardinals — who play five of their first seven contests at the Saint Mary's Gym. … 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 now scored 80 or more points in a game eight times in the last two 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 four games this season that Saint Mary's has had five players score 10 or more points in the same game. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) scored a game-high 27 points, while Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) 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. … Along with Cave and Anthony, Saint Mary's also got 15 points from Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.), a career-best 13 from Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla.), and 11 from Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.). … In addition to his career-high 26 points against Luther on Nov. 30, Anthony also collected a career-best 11 rebounds for his first double-double in a Cardinal uniform. … Thanks to his 27-point effort against Luther on Nov. 30, Cave has now scored 20 or more points in seven straight games — having netted 23, 24, and 21 in Saint Mary's first three games this season, while closing out the 2018-19 season scoring 29, 36, and 23 points. … Cave has eclipsed the 20-point barrier 14 times in his collegiate career. … Cave's 36-point effort against Macalester on Feb. 9, 2019 was a career-high and the highest single-game performance since Chris Palmer scored 37 against Bethel on Dec. 6, 2010. … Cave enters Saturday's conference game against Concordia leading the team in scoring, averaging 23.8 ppg — third in the MIAC. … Anthony (12.0 ppg) and Rosner (11.3 ppg) are also averaging in double figures heading into the Concordia game. … Fueled by his 11 boards against Luther on Nov. 30, Anthony leads the team with 26 rebounds (6.5 rpg), three more than Cave, and assists (12). … Cave is the team-leader with seven blocks, and the junior shares the team lead in steals (7) with Anthony-Bello. … 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 — equaled their season-high with 10 3-pointers against Luther on Nov. 30. Saint Mary's has now connected on 10 or more 3-pointers in a game 17 times over the last two seasons. … Cave owns a team-best 14 3-pointers, followed by Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) with eight, and Rosner and Anthony-Bello with seven each. … As a team, Saint Mary's is 114-for-249 (.458) from the field — including 40-for-99 (.404) from behind the arc — and is 46-for-67 (.687) from the free throw line. … 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the third consecutive road game for the Cobbers, who played three of their first four games this season on their home court. … Concordia's loss to Saint John's on Wednesday was its second straight conference setback. CC has sandwiched a two-game winning streak between a pair of two-game losing streaks through its first six games of the season. … Tommy Schyma was the only Cobber in double figures against Saint John's, finishing with 14 points. … Schyma has now led the Cobbers in scoring in five of their six games this season — including 20 or more points in three of those five games. … Schyma scored a season-high 27 points in Concordia's season-opening 86-82 loss to UM-Morris on Nov. 8. … Schyma heads into Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's leading the team in scoring with an 18.7 ppg average. … John Reiten is also averaging in double figures through six games, scoring at a 10.3 ppg clip. … Concordia boasts four players with 20 or more rebounds this season, led by Schyma with 39 (6.5 rpg), Bryden Urie (21, 3.5 rpg), and Camden Arndt (21, 3.5 rpg). … Along with his team-leading 18.7 ppg scoring average and 6.5 rpg rebounding average, Schyma also leads the Cobbers in both assists (16) and steals (7). … Schyma (12) and Urie (11) have accounted for 23 of the Cobbers' 45 made 3-pointers this season. … As a team, the Cobbers have shooting 45.9 percent from the field (153-for-333) while converting on 70 of 102 free throw attempts. … The Cobbers, who are averaging 70.2 ppg), have scored 80 or more points in three of their first six games — including a season-high 92-point effort against UW-Stout in a 92-90 win on Nov. 13.