By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University and St. Olaf men's basketball teams entered Saturday's showdown on opposite ends of the "thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat."
 
The Cardinals got a pair of clutch free throws from Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) with three seconds remaining in overtime to lift Saint Mary's to a 79-77 win over Carleton last Monday, while St. Olaf suffered a heartbreaking 75-74 loss to Augsburg when the Oles' last-second tip-in at the buzzer was waved off.
 
Saturday's outcome, however, would not need any last-second heroics, but it did end in the agony of defeat — for the Cardinals.
 
Saint Mary's cut a 22-point second-half deficit to five with six minutes remaining in regulation, but the Oles outscored the Cardinals 18-11 the rest of the way in dealing SMU a 74-62 conference setback at Skoglund Center.
 
Dominic Bledsoe knocked down a 3-pointer on St. Olaf's first possession of the opening half, and the Oles would never relinquish the lead.
 
Saint Mary's closed to within two, 19-17 on a jumper by Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) midway through the half, but the Oles answered by scoring 12 of the next 14 points to push its lead to 31-19 with 4:29 to play.
 
Back-to-back field goals by Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) cut the deficit to eight, 31-23, but St. Olaf answered by closing the half on a 6-0 run for a 37-23 advantage heading into the intermission.
 
St. Olaf appeared to have things in complete control in the second half, outscoring Saint Mary's 15-7 out of the second-half gate to grab a 22-point, 52-30 advantage with 13:10 still to play.
 
Down, but far from out, the Cardinals began to claw their back, capping a 19-2 run with an Anthony-Bello field goal to get Saint Mary's within five, 54-49 with 6:41 on the clock. Still a five-point game, 56-51, the Oles put the game out of reach, scoring 12 of the next 15 points to lead by 14, 68-54 with less than three minutes remaining.
 
Saint Mary's put four players in double figures, led by Cave and Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla.) with 14 points each. Anthony-Bello chipped in 13 points and Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) added 12. The Cardinals shot 46.8 percent from the field (29-for-62), but were just 2 of 19 from behind the 3-point line.
 
Michael Meriggioli and Troy Diggins Jr. each scored a game-high 16 points and Nate Albers added 15 for the Oles, who went 25-for-59 from the field (42.4 percent) and rained in 10 of 30 3-point attempts.
 
After back-to-back road games in Northfield, Minn., the Cardinals (5-7 MIAC, 8-9 overall) return home on Wednesday, entertaining Macalester in a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym. The Oles (6-7 MIAC, 9-9 overall), meanwhile, take to the road on Wednesday, heading to Hamline's Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a conference showdown with the Pipers. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.