By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — Shawn Pickford (Minneapolis, Minn.) poured in a career-high 17 points to lead three players in double figures for the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team — but the effort was not enough for the Cardinals in Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown against Gustavus.
 
The Gusties used an 11-0 run as part of a half-ending 14-5 burst — and held off a furious Cardinal comeback late in the second half — in dealing Saint Mary's a 76-65 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The opening 10 minutes of the first half proved to be a real see-saw affair, as Saint Mary's led by as many as four, while Gustavus held a pair of one-point leads. After the game's third tie at 16-16, but Gusties stole the momentum, outscoring the Cardinals 9-3 to grab a 25-19 advantage with seven minutes remaining.
 
A Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) 3-pointer got the Cardinals within four, 25-22, but the Gusties rattled off 11 unanswered points en route to outscoring Saint Mary's 14-5 over the final 6:14 to take a 39-27 lead into the halftime intermission.
 
The Cardinals cut the deficit to 10 twice early in the second half — 44-34 and 46-36, but the Gusties went on an 11-0 tear to push the advantage to 21, 57-36. Saint Mary's answered by rattling off 10 unanswered points to whittle the GAC lead to 11, 57-46, with 8:40 to play.
 
Gustavus held a 70-52 cushion at the 15-minute mark, when the Cardinals made one final push, trimming the deficit to eight, 72-64, with 1:40 on the clock.
 
That, however, would be as close as Saint Mary's would get, as Gustavus knocked down four free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
 
Pickford finished 5-for-9 from the field — including 3 of 5 from behind the 3-point line, and went 4-for-6 from the line en route to his career-high 17 points. Eli Cave ·St. Paul, Minn.) —coming off a 32-point effort against Augsburg on Monday — finished with 12 points, while Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla.) chipped in 10.
 
The Cardinals shot 38.3 percent from the field with seven 3-pointers, while adding a 12 of 19 showing from the free throw line. Gustavus, meanwhile, shot 40.7 percent from the field (22-for-54) with six 3-pointers, while taking advantage of 33 trips to the charity stripe — knocking down 26 of those 33 free throws.
 
After back-to-back home games, the Cardinals (3-4 MIAC, 6-6 overall) hit the road on Saturday, heading to Hamline's Hutton Arena for a 1 p.m. MIAC matchup against the Pipers. The Gusties (5-3 MIAC, 5-8 overall), meanwhile, also take to the road on Saturday, traveling to Bethel's Robertson Center Gym for a 1 p.m. conference showdown against the Royals.