By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team returns to conference action on Monday, as the Cardinals head to Carleton's West Gym for a 7 p.m. showdown against the Knights.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-6 MIAC, 7-8 Overall) at Carleton Knights (4-6 MIAC, 7-8 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — January 18, 2020 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: St. Thomas knocked down 12 second-half 3-pointers — including eight in a span of seven minutes — as the Tommies pulled away for an 81-64 conference win over the Cardinals | Recap
• Carleton — January 15, 2020 • West Gym * Northfield, Minn.: Isaac Tessler poured in a game-high 25 points and Kent Hanson contributed his 20th career double-double, but the Knights fell behind early and never recovered in a 77-64 setback against No. 9 St. Thomas | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton — A Year Ago:
• December 1, 2018 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Carleton scored eight of the game's final 10 points, erasing a one-point Saint Mary's advantage, and dealing the Cardinals a 60-55 conference setback | Recap 
• January 9, 2019 * West Gym * Northfield, Minn.: For the second time in as many meetings between Carleton and Saint Mary's, the game went right down to the wire. Unfortunately for Saint Mary's, for the second straight meeting, the Knights rallied from a late second-half deficit to beat the Cardinals — this time getting back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Matthew Stritzel in the game's final minute as part of an 11-3, game-ending run that rallied the Knights to a 74-71 victory at West Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Northfield, Minn., for a second straight game on Saturday, heading to St. Olaf's Skoglund Center for a 1 p.m. conference matchup against the Oles.
• Carleton: The Knights are right back in action on Wednesday, traveling to Bethel's Robertson Center Gym in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Royals.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Monday's game at Carleton is the first of back-to-back road games for the Cardinals, who are in the midst of playing four of five games away from the Saint Mary's Gym — the lone exception, last Saturday's matchup against St. Thomas. … Last Saturday's 81-64 loss to No. 9 St. Thomas was the Cardinals' second straight game against a team ranked in the D3hoops.com Top 10 — Saint Mary's dropped an 80-62 decision to No. 4 Saint John's last Wednesday. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) scored 13 points and added 13 rebounds against No. 9 St. Thomas last Saturday, while Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 12 points. … Cave's 13-point, 13-rebound double-double was his first of the year — and seventh of his collegiate career. … Cave's 13 rebounds — including 11 in the first half — were a career high. … All 12 of Anthony's points against the Tommies last Saturday came in the second half. … Cave has now scored 10 or more points in all 15 games this season ­— and has netted 20 or more points six times this season and 16 times in his collegiate career. … 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. … Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) scored a season-high 21 points in the Cardinals' 87-73 win over Hamline last Saturday. Rosner's effort marked the third time in his career that he has eclipsed the 20-point barrier and was just three points shy of his career high. … Rosner 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' four double-doubles this season. Rosner recorded the Cardinals' other double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds against Dubuque on Dec. 31. … The Cardinals boast four players who have scored single-game career-highs of 10 of more points this season — Anthony (26 v. Luther on Nov. 17), Shawn Pickford (Minneapolis, Minn. / 17 points vs. Gustavus on Jan. 8), Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla. / 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 on Jan. 6. 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 enters Monday's game against St. Thomas leading the team in scoring, averaging 18.4 ppg. Anthony (10.9 ppg) is also averaging in double figures, followed by Rosner (9.4 ppg), Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill. / 8.3 ppg), and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 7.6 ppg). … Cave also owns the team lead in rebounds (87, 5.8 rpg), assists (53), steals (29), and blocked shots (16). … Anthony has recorded 10 or more rebounds in a game three times this season. … The Cardinals knocked down 14 3-pointers against Hamline last Saturday, equaling the program's single-game school-record, set last year against Gustavus on Dec. 5, 2018. … Saint Mary's, which drained a single-season school record 233 3-pointers a year ago has drained 10 or more 3-points in a game six times this season. … Gleason owns a team-best 28 3-pointers, followed by Anthony-Bello (23), Cave (22), and Rosner (22). … As a team, Saint Mary's is 397-for-912 (.435) from the field — including 124-for-343 (.362) from behind the arc — and is 183-for-266 (.688) 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' 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 put five players in double figures three times this season. … The Cardinals have scored 80 or more points in a game four times this season — and 10 times in the last two seasons. … The Cardinals' 77-63 loss to Saint John's in the teams' first meeting 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 their 87-73 win over Hamline on Jan. 11, the Cardinals snapped their season-high five-game losing 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 Carleton Knights:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Monday's game against Saint Mary's is the second straight home game for the Knights, who are in the midst of playing six of seven contests at West Gym — where Carleton sports a 2-2 record. … Last Wednesday's 77-64 loss to No. 9 St. Thomas last Wednesday snapped the Knights' two-game winning streak. The Knights head into Monday's showdown against the Cardinals 3-2 in the month of January. … Isaac Tessler scored a game-high 25 points to pace the Knights in their loss to No. 9 St. Thomas last Wednesday. Tessler was one of four Carleton players with 10 or more points against the Tommies, being joined by Beck Page (12), Jeremy Beckler (11), and Kent Hanson (10). … Hanson also hauled in 13 rebounds — all on the defensive end — en route to his fourth double-double of the season and 20th of his collegiate career. …  With his 25-point effort against the Tommies, Tessler became the fourth different player to lead the Knights in scoring this season. … Carleton boasts four players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Hanson (19.1 ppg), Beckler (17.7 ppg), Alex Battist (15.6 ppg), and Tessler (13.1 ppg). … Carleton has had a player score 26 or more points six times — including a 32-point effort from Beckler against Hope on Dec. 18, and a season0high 35-oint showing from Hanson against Bethany Lutheran two days earlier. … Hanson also leads the team with 118 rebounds (8.4 rpg), with Battist also eclipsing the century mark in rebounds with 108 (7.7 rpg). … Henry Bensen has amassed a team-leading 76 assists, with Tessler chipping in 62, while Bensen also leads the team in steals with 25, two more than Tessler. … Beckler (19) and Battist (13) have accounted for 32 of Carleton's 49 blocked shots. … Carleton has poured in 109 3-pointers through 15 games, led by Hanson (33), Beckler (26), Page (23), and Tessler (11). … As a team, Carleton is shooting 48.8 percent from the field (410-for-840), 37.6 percent from behind the 3-point line (109-for-290), and 65.5 percent from the free throw line (201-for-307). … The Knights are averaging 75.5 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 75.5 ppg clip. … Carleton has scored 80 or more points six times this season — including a pair of games with 90 or more points. The Knights netted 97 points in beating Bethany Lutheran 97-91, while scoring a season-high 98 in a 98-79 victory over Finlandia three days later.