By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team returns to conference action on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Bethel's Robertson Center Gym for a 1 p.m. matchup against the Royals
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-1 MIAC, 6-3 Overall) at Bethel Royals (3-1 MIAC, 6-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — December 30-31, 2019 * Wheaton, Ill.: The Cardinals dropped both of their games at the Wheaton Holiday Shootout, falling to the host Thunder 77-67, before falling to the University of Dubuque 75-69 | Wheaton Recap * UD Recap
• Bethel — December 14, 2019 * Robertson Center Gym * Arden Hills, Minn.: Bethel saw its three-game winning streak snapped prior to the holiday break, as the Royals dropped a 65-54 nonconference decision to No. 10 UW-Platteville | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
• January 7, 2019 * Robertson Center Gym * Arden Hills, Minn.: Bethel knocked down 15 3-pointers — and survived an incredible 18-point second-half showing from Saint Mary's Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill.) — in dropping the Cardinals 87-61 | Recap
• February 6, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Bethel took advantage of three Saint Mary's turnovers in the waning minutes and scored the game's final seven points — rallying from an 83-81 deficit to beat the Cardinals 88-83 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back in action on Monday, returning home to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. conference showdown against Augsburg.
• Bethel: The Royals hit the road again on Monday, traveling to Concordia's Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup against the Cobbers.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game at Bethel is the third straight road contest for the Cardinals, who are 4-1 on their home court this season, while going 2-2 away from the Saint Mary's Gym. … The Cardinals' 77-67 loss to Wheaton on Dec. 30 snapped their four-game winning streak. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) led the Cardinals in scoring in both games at the Wheaton Holiday Shootout on Dec. 30-31, scoring 20 points against host Wheaton on Dec. 30, before adding 17 against the University of Dubuque the following day. … Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla.) also scored in double figures in both tournament games, netting 12 vs. the Thunder and 14 against the Spartans. … Martin's 14 points effort against Dubuque was a career-high. … Cave has now led the team in scoring in eight of its nine games — the lone exception, the Cardinals' 93-61 win over Martin Luther on Dec. 19, when Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) and James Connolly (Round Lake Park, Ill.) both scored 11 points to lead the charge. … Connolly's 11 points against Martin Luther on Dec. 19 were a career-high. … Connolly and Martin are two of three Cardinals this season to post a single-game career-high of 10 or more points — joining Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.), who netted a career-best 26 points against Luther on Nov. 30. … Rosner scored 14 points and added 10 rebounds against 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 a game- and season-high 27 points, while 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 has eclipsed the 20-point barrier five times this season and 15 times in his collegiate career. … Cave enters Saturday's game at Bethel leading the team in scoring, averaging 19.6 ppg — fourth in the MIAC. … Anthony (10.9 ppg) is also averaging in double figures, followed by Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill. / 8.8 ppg) and Rosner (8.4 ppg). … Anthony, who has recorded 10 or more rebounds three times this season, leads the team with 51 rebounds (7.3 rpg). … Cave is the team-leader with 26 assists and 12 blocks, while Anthony-Bello owns a team-leading 19 steals. … Saint Mary's, which drained a single-season school record 233 3-pointers last season — including a single-game school-record 14 against Gustavus on Dec. 5 — has knocked down 10 or more 3-points in a game four times this season, including a season-high 11 against Crown on Nov. 15. … Cave owns a team-best 19 3-pointers, followed by Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 18), Anthony-Bello (13), and Rosner (11). … As a team, Saint Mary's is 246-for-553 (.445) from the field — including 76-for-212 (.358) from behind the arc — and is 119-for-171 (.696) 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 in six games 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. … 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 Bethel Royals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the second straight home game for the Royals, who are just 1-3 at Robertson Center Gym this season. … The Royals' 65-54 loss to No. 10 UW-Platteville snapped their three-game winning streak — a streak that included a 64-46 road win at No. 18 UW-Stevens Point. … Isaiah Carver-Bagley scored a team-high 21 points in the Royals' loss to UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 14. The 21-point effort — which included 15 points in the second half — equaled Carver-Bagley's career-high. … The Royals enter Saturday's conference showdown against Saint Mary's boasting three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Granger Kingland (13.6 ppg), Carver-Bagler (13.0 ppg), and Jack Jenson (12.8 ppg). … Carver-Bagley has scored 10 or more points in seven of the Royals' first nine games — including season-high 21-point showings against both Macalester and UW-Platteville. … Kingland owns the team's top single-game showing, netting 23 points in Bethel's season-opening win over Crown on Nov. 9. … Along with his 13.8 ppg scoring average, Kingland also leads the team with 75 rebounds (8.3 rpg), followed by Jenson (39, 4.3 rpg) and Carver-Bagley (34, 3.8 rpg). … Jenson has amassed a team-best 39 assists and also leads the team with 13 steals. … Bethel is shooting 45.9 percent from the field (245-for-534 and have netted 100 of 136 free throw attempts (73.5 %). … Bethel has drained 82 3-pointers through nine games, led by Carver-Bagley (18), Kingland (15), Jamal Davis (13), Hudson Urbanus (12), and Noah Whalen (12). … The Royals are averaging 74.6 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 62.4 ppg clip. … Bethel netted a season-high 100 points in its season-opening 100-82 nonconference win over Crown on Nov. 9. … With their win over Crown on Nov. 9, the Royals have opened their season with a win in each of their last seven seasons.