By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — When going up against the fourth-ranked team in the country, getting off to a good start is imperative.
 
And a quick start is exactly what took place Wednesday evening.
 
Unfortunately, it was Saint John's getting off to the fast start, scoring the first seven points of the game — and 11 of the first 13 points — and once in the driver's seat, the Johnnies never took their foot off the gas in dealing the Cardinals an 80-62 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Sexton Arena.
 
The Johnnies tried to race past the Cardinals in the game's opening 20 minutes, but the Cardinals refused to play along. Trailing by nine, 11-2 in the game's first five minutes, Saint Mary's clawed to within two, 14-12, only to have SJU answer with a 14-4 run to push the lead to 12, 28-16 with just under three minutes remaining.
 
Saint John's grabbed its biggest lead of the half, 36-23, but a lay-up by Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) in the waning seconds got the Cardinals within 11, 36-25 at the break. SJU quickly put a little distance between themselves and the Cardinals, opening the second half by scoring eight unanswered points to make it a 44-25 Johnnie lead just 1:28 into the half.
 
Saint Mary's made one last charge, cutting the deficit to nine, 49-40 on a three-point play by Anthony, but that's as close as the Cardinals would get, as Saint John's pushed its lead to as many as 22 twice over the final 14:14 en route to its 13th straight win.
 
Saint Mary's put four players in double figures — Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) led the way with 17, followed by Anthony (16), Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis. / 13), and Kareem Anthony-Bello (10). The Cardinals finished 21 of 56 from the field (37.5 percent) with seven 3-pointers, and added a 13-for-19 effort from the free throw line.
 
The Johnnies who shot 51.9 percent from the field (28-for-54) and drained 10 of 24 3-pointers, were led by Colton Codute and Jubie Alade with 18 points each, while Zach Hanson chipped in 14 points and Oakley Baker added 10.
 
The Cardinals (4-5 MIAC, 6-8 overall) return to conference play on Saturday — against another nationally ranked opponent — as the Cardinals welcome nationally ranked St. Thomas to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 1 p.m. conference matchup. The Johnnies (9-0 MIAC, 13-1 overall) are back on their home court at Sexton Arena in Collegeville, Minn., on Saturday, hosting Bethel in a 1 p.m. MIAC showdown.