By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — After back-to-back road games, the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team returns home on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Macalester in a 7 p.m. conference matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-7 MIAC, 8-9 Overall) vs. Macalester Scots (3-10 MIAC, 6-12 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — January 25 * Skoglund Center * Northfield, Minn.: Saint Mary's cut a 22-point second-half deficit to five with six minutes remaining in regulation, but St. Olaf outscored the Cardinals 18-11 the rest of the way in dealing the Cardinals a 74-62 conference setback | Recap
• Macalester — January 25, 2020 * Leonard Center * St. Paul, Minn.: Macalester erupted for 49 second-half points, as the Scots erased an eight-point halftime deficit and dealt Gustavus an 80-72 setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester — Earlier This Year:
• December 11, 2019 * Leonard Center * St. Paul, Minn.: Saint Mary's scored the game's first seven points — and 12 of the first 14 — and cruised to their third conference win of the season, a 75-59 win over Macalester | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester — A Year Ago:
• January 12, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Wyatt Ferm knocked down a fade-away jumper with 0.7 seconds remaining in regulation to lift Macalester to a 75-74 MIAC win over the Cardinals | Recap
• February 9, 2019 * Leonard Center * St. Paul, Minn.: Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) put the Cardinal offense on his back — scoring a career-high 36 points — as he ignited a 46-point second-half outburst in leading the Cardinals to an 86-69 conference win over the Scots | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Saturday, traveling to Concordia's Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference contest against the Cobbers.
• Macalester: The Scots are back on the road on Saturday, heading to Bethel's Robertson Center Gym in Arden Hills, Minn., to take on the Royals in a 1 p.m. MIAC showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Macalester is just the second home game in the last six games for the Cardinals, who are 4-4 on their home court, while going 4-5 away from the Saint Mary's Gym. … The Cardinals head into Wednesday's home matchup against Macalester with eight wins, equaling last season's win total — with eight games yet to be played. The Cardinals have not won nine or more games in a season since going 9-16 during the 2015-16 season. … The Cardinals' 79-77 OT win over Carleton on Jan. 20 snapped their two-game losing streak, with both losses coming against teams ranked in the D3hoops.com Top 10 — No. 4 Saint John's and No. 9 St. Thomas. … Saint Mary's two-point win over Carleton on Jan. 20 was its first overtime game of the season — and first since falling to St. Olaf 90-85 on Jan. 31, 2019. … The Cardinals have played just four overtime games in the last seven seasons. … Saint Mary's put four players in double figures against St. Olaf last Saturday, led by Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla.) with 14 points each. Kareem Anthony-Bello (St. Paul, Minn.) chipped in 13 points and Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) added 12. … Cave — who recorded his first double-double of the season, and seventh of his collegiate career, with 13 points and 13 rebounds against No. 9 St. Thomas on Jan. 18 — has now scored 10 or more points in all 17 games this season ­— and has netted 20 or more points seven times this season and 17 times in his collegiate career. … 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's 13 rebounds — including 11 in the first half — against St. Thomas on Jan. 18 were a career high. … 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 on Jan. 11. 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. … 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), Pickford (17 points vs. Gustavus on Jan. 8), Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla. / 14 points v. St. Olaf on Jan. 25 and v. U. of Dubuque on Dec. 31), and James Connolly (Round Lake Park, Ill. / 11 v. Martin Luther on Dec. 19). … Cave enters Wednesday's game against Macalester leading the team in scoring, averaging 18.6 ppg. Anthony (10.7 ppg) is also averaging in double figures, followed by Rosner (9.2 ppg), Anthony-Bello (8.2 ppg), and Gleason (7.5 ppg). … Cave also owns the team lead in rebounds (96, 5.6 rpg), assists (57), steals (29), and blocked shots (17). … The Cardinals knocked down 14 3-pointers against Hamline on Jan. 11, 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 netted 10 or more 3-pointers in a game seven times this season. … Gleason owns a team-best 32 3-pointers, followed by Cave (26), Rosner (25), and Anthony-Bello (24). … As a team, Saint Mary's is 455-for-1034 (.440) from the field — including 137-for-390 (.351) from behind the arc — and is 195-for-283 (.689) 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. … With its 80-74 win over St. Olaf in the teams' first meeting 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. … The Cardinals' 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. … 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 Macalester Scots:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• After back-to-back home games, Wednesday's matchup at Saint Mary's is the first of two straight road contests for the Scots, who are 4-6 on their home floor, while going 2-6 away from Leonard Center Gym. … Last Saturday's 80-72 win over Gustavus snapped the Scots' five-game losing streak. … The Scots put four players in double figures against Gustavus last Saturday, led by Eric Sathy with 24. Shane Anderson (18), Tyler McFarland (15), and Jackson Henningfield (14) also finished in double figures vs. the Gusties. … Macalester enters Wednesday's conference showdown at Saint Mary's boasting three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Henningfield (17.3 ppg), Gabriel Ramos (11.9 ppg), and Sathy (11.2 ppg). … Henningfield leads the Scots with 158 rebounds (8.8 rpg). He is one of three Macalester players to have eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau, being joined by Anderson (120, 6.7 rpg) and Ramos (100, 5.6 rpg). … Ramos is the team's assist leader with 82, while McFarland has recorded a team-best 12 steals and Anderson has accounted for 30 of the Scots' 63 blocked shots. … Macalester has knocked down 118 3-pointers through 18 games, led by Henningfield (29), Ramos (25), and Sathy (25). McFarland (13) and Mike Babb (10) have also tossed in 10 or more 3-pointers this season. … As a team, the Scots — who are averaging 63.3 ppg — are shooting 43.6 percent from the field (445-for-1020), including 118-for-386 (30.6 percent) from beyond the arc, while going 169-for-237 (71.3 percent) from the free throw line. … Macalester has scored 70 or more points seven times this season — including eclipsing the 80-point mark twice. The Scots netted 80 points in last Saturday's 80-72 win over Gustavus and poured in a season-high 92 points in topping Crown 92-85 on Nov. 21. On the flip side, Macalester has been held to 60 points or less in eight of its 12 losses this season — including each of its last four setbacks.