By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team returns to conference action on Monday, as the Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. showdown against Augsburg.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-2 MIAC, 6-4 Overall) vs. Augsburg Auggies (3-2 MIAC, 7-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — January 4, 2020 * Robertson Center Gym * Arden Hills, Minn.: Bethel knocked down 14 3-pointers, as the Royals dealt the Cardinals an 84-57-conference setback | Recap
• Augsburg — January 4, 2020 * Sexton Arena * Collegeville, Minn.: No. 11 Saint John's University used a strong first-half performance to build 19-point lead at the intermission, and it proved too much for the Auggies, as Augsburg dropped an 82-63 MIAC decision | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg — A Year Ago:
• January 5, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Augsburg drained seven first-half 3-pointers — while holding Saint Mary's to just 1 of 10 from behind the arc in the game's opening 20 minutes — and rolled to an 88-56 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over the Cardinals | Recap
• February 2, 2019 * Si Melby Hall * Minneapolis, Minn.: Martin Mitchell came off the bench to score a career-high 30 points — including eight 3-pointers — as the Auggies held off a late Saint Mary's charge to deal the Cardinals a 90-80 conference setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back in action on Wednesday, returning home to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. conference showdown against Gustavus.
• Augsburg: The Auggies hit the road against on Wednesday, heading across town to Bethel's Robertson Center Gym in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup against the Royals.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Monday's game against Augsburg is the first of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals, who played their last three contests on the road. Saint Mary's is 4-1 on their home court this season, while going 2-3 away from the Saint Mary's Gym. … Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) scored a team-high 12 points and Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) added 10 for the Cardinals in last Saturday's 84-57 conference loss at Bethel. … Cave, who led the team in scoring in both of their 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 — has now scored 10 or more points in all 10 games this season. … With his 20-point effort against Wheaton on Dec. 30, Cave has netted 20 or more points five times this season and 15 times in his collegiate career. … Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla.) scored a career-high 14 points against the University of Dubuque on Dec. 31. … Martin is one of three Cardinals to score single-game career-highs of 10 or more points, being joined by Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill. / 26 v. Luther on Nov. 17) and James Connolly (Round Lake Park, Ill. / 11 v. Martin Luther on Dec. 19). … Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) 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' 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 enters Monday's home game against Augsburg leading the team in scoring, averaging 18.6 ppg. … Anthony (10.9 ppg) is also averaging in double figures, followed by Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill. / 8.2 ppg), Rosner (8.2 ppg), and Gleason (8.0 ppg) … Cave owns a team-leading 53 rebounds (5.3 rpg), while Anthony — who has recorded 10 or more rebounds three times this season — is close behind with 51 boards (7.3 rpg). … Cave is the team-leader with 27 assists and 12 blocks, while Anthony-Bello owns a team-leading 20 steals. … Saint Mary's, which drained a single-season school record 233 3-pointers a year ago — 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. … Gleason owns a team-best 20 3-pointers, followed by Cave (19), Anthony-Bellow (14), and Rosner (11). … As a team, Saint Mary's is 266-for-608 (.438) from the field — including 81-for-233 (.348) from behind the arc — and is 131-for-189 (.693) 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, while their 77-67 loss to Wheaton on Dec. 30 snapped their season-high four-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 Augsburg Auggies:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Monday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth of five straight road games for the Auggies, who 4-1 at home, while going 3-2 away from Si Melby Hall. … Augsburg's 82-63 loss to Saint John's on Saturday snapped the Auggies' two-game winning streak. Augsburg had beaten both Shenandoah (72-60) and St. Mary's College of Maryland (90-73) at the Puerto Rico Classic on Dec. 20-21. … Booker Coplin posted a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double in Augsburg's loss to Saint John's last Saturday. … Coplin has now led the Auggies in scoring in eight of their 10 games this season. … Coplin, who leads the team — and the conference — with a 23.2 ppg scoring average, has netted 20 or more points six times this season, including a season-high 38-point effort against UW-River Falls on Nov. 30. … Coplin is one of three Auggies averaging in double figures heading into Monday's showdown with Saint Mary's, being joined by Henry Mulligan (11.8 ppg) and Matt Carik (11.7 ppg). … Coplin also owns a team-high 88 rebounds (8.8 rpg) and has recorded six double-doubles through 10 games. … Carik is the team-leader with 37 assists and Coplin owns team-highs in steals (13) and blocks (13). … Augsburg is shooting 47.1 percent from the field (287-for-609) — including a 95-for-257 effort from the 3-pointe line — while going 122-for-157 (.777) from the free throw line. … Mulligan has drained a team-best 28 3-pointers, followed by Coplin (23), Carik (17) and Martin Mitchell (11). … As a team, the Auggies are averaging 79.1 ppg and have netted 80 or more points four times ­— including a season-high 102-point effort in beating Northland 102-54 on Nov. 13.