By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — After back-to-back home games, the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team hits the road on Saturday, heading to Hamline's Hutton Arena for a 1 p.m. conference showdown against the Pipers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-4 MIAC, 6-6 Overall) at Hamline Pipers (0-7 MIAC, 2-10 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — January 8, 2020 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Shawn Pickford (Minneapolis, Minn.) scored a career-high 17 points to lead three players in double figures, but it was not enough, as Gustavus dealt the Cardinals a 76-65 conference setback | Recap
• Hamline — January 8, 2020 * Hutton Arena * St. Paul, Minn.: Hamline shot less than 27 percent from the field, as Carleton handed the Pipers a 71-54 home MIAC loss | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline — A Year Ago:
• January 2, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's — coming off a 76-67 win over North Park — could not cool off the hot-shooting Pipers early on, as Hamline outscored the Cardinals 31-12 in the final 12 minutes of the opening half and never looked back in dropping SMU 76-57 | Recap
• February 4, 2019 * Hutton Arena * St. Paul, Minn.: Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) combined for 44 points — Cave pouring in 23 and Freetly adding a career best 21 — but it was not enough, as Hamline got a 3-pointer from Trey Prince in the waning seconds, breaking a 65-65 tie and leading the Pipers to a 68-65 conference win | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Wednesday, heading to Saint John's Sexton Arena in Collegeville, Minn., for their second meeting of the season with the nationally ranked Johnnies.
• Hamline: The Pipers hit the road on Wednesday, heading across town to Macalester's Leonard Center for a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup against the Scots.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• After back-to-back home games, Saturday's showdown with Hamline is the first of two straight road contests for the Cardinals. … The Cardinals' 76-65 loss to Gustavus Wednesday was just their second home loss of the season. Saint Mary's is 4-2 on their home court, while going 2-3 away from the Saint Mary's Gym. … Shawn Pickford (Minneapolis, Minn.) scored a career-high 17 points against Gustavus Wednesday, while Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla.) chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively. … The Cardinals boast four players who have scored single-game career-highs of 10 of more points this season — Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill. / 26 v. Luther on Nov. 17), Pickford (17 points vs. Gustavus on Wednesday), Martin (14 points v. U. of Dubuque on Dec. 31), and James Connolly (Round Lake Park, Ill. / 11 v. Martin Luther on Dec. 19). … Cave scored a season-high 32 points against Augsburg last Monday. The 32-point effort was just four points shy of his career-high — a 36-point showing against Macalester on Feb. 9, 2019 — and marked the third time in his Saint Mary's career that he has eclipsed the 30-point barrier. … Cave has now scored 10 or more points in all 12 games this season ­— and has netted 20 or more points six times this season and 16 times in his collegiate career. … Cave missed out on his first double-double of the season by one assist against Augsburg last Monday, finishing with a career-high nine helpers. … Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) scored 14 points and added 10 rebounds against the University of Dubuque on Dec. 31. It was his first double-double of the season and third of his collegiate career. … Anthony — who, along with his career-high 26 points, posted a career-best 11 rebounds in recording his first collegiate double-double against Luther on Nov. 30 — owns two of the Cardinals' three double-doubles this season. … Cave scored 27 points and Anthony chipped in 26 against Luther on Nov. 30 — marking the first time this season the Cardinals have had two players with 20 or more points in the same game. Saint Mary's achieved that feat three times a year ago. … Cave enters Saturday's game at Hamline leading the team in scoring, averaging 19.2 ppg. … Anthony (10.1 ppg) is also averaging in double figures, followed by Rosner (8.3 ppg), Kareem Anthony-Bello (8.3 ppg), and Kevin Gleason (7.8 ppg). … Cave also owns the team lead in rebounds (65, 5.4 rpg), assists (38) and blocked shots (15). … Anthony, who is second to Cave with 59 rebounds (7.4 rpg) has recorded 10 or more rebounds three times this season. … Anthony-Bello owns a team-leading 26 steals, two more than Cave. … Saint Mary's, which drained a single-season school record 233 3-pointers a year ago — including a single-game school-record 14 against Gustavus on Dec. 5 — has knocked down 10 or more 3-points in a game five times this season, including a season-high 11 against Crown on Nov. 15. … Gleason owns a team-best 23 3-pointers, followed by Cave (21), Anthony-Bello (17), and Rosner (14). … As a team, Saint Mary's is 322-for-739 (.436) from the field — including 98-for-281 (.349) from behind the arc — and is 146-for-215 (.679) from the free throw line. … Saint Mary's went 25-for-30 from the free throw line against Martin Luther on Dec. 19 — both season highs. … The Cardinals put five players in double figures in their 103-97 overtime win over Luther on Nov. 30. It was the second time this season that Saint Mary's has had five players score 10 or more points in the same game. … 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 nine 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, while their 77-67 loss to Wheaton on Dec. 30 snapped their season-high four-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. … Saint Mary's got scoring from 15 different players in its 93-61 win over Martin Luther on Dec. 19. … The Cardinals' 6-1 start to the season was their best start since 2010-11, when they opened the year 8-1. … 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 Hamline Pipers:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight home game for the Pipers, who are just 1-5 at Hutton Arena this season. … Wednesday's 71-54 loss to Carleton was the Pipers' second straight setback, and ninth loss in their last 10 games — the lone victory, an 82-75 win over Baurch that snapped HU's seven-game losing streak. … Michael Dillon scored 14 points and Luke Siwek chipped in 11 in Hamline's loss to Carleton Wednesday. … The Pipers head into Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's boasting three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Dillon (14.0 ppg), Jake Larson (10.7 ppg), and Siwek (10.3 ppg). … Dillon is also the team's rebounding leader with 103 (8.6 rpg), followed by Trey Prince with 64 (5.3 rpg). … Hamline has three players — Lucas Berg (29), Prince (26), and Jake Larson (20) — with 20 or more assists, while Dillon (19) and Berg (15) lead the team in steals. … Hamline has amassed 31 blocks shots this season, led by Dillon with nine. … The Pipers have drained 101 3-pointers through 12 games, led by Dillon (27), Conner Krenos, Larson (13), and Siwek (10). … As a team, Hamline is shooting 38.9 percent from the field (292-for-751) and 66.0 percent from the free throw line (128-for-194. … Hamline is averaging 67.7 ppg, while the Pipers' opponents are scoring at a 78.2 ppg clip. … The Pipers have scored 80 or more points in a game four times this season — including a season-high 87-point effort in beating Northwestern (Minn.) 87-84 on Nov. 20. … Six of Hamline's 12 games this season have been decided by seven points or less. … The Pipers have played two overtime games — falling to Gustavus 88-81 and St. Thomas 92-83.