By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team returns to conference action — and returns to the Saint Mary's Gym — on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Gustavus in a 7 p.m. contest.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-3 MIAC, 6-5 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (4-3 MIAC, 4-8 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — January 6, 2020 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) scored a season-high 32 points — four shy of his collegiate best — but it was not enough, as Augsburg held off a late Cardinal charge in dealing Saint Mary's an 86-79 MIAC setback | Recap
• Gustavus — January 6, 2020 * Gus Young Court * St. Peter, Minn.: The Gusties posted their highest offensive performance of the season — and snapped their three-game losing streak — with a 93-82 conference win over Carleton | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
• December 8, 2018 * Gus Young Court * St. Peter, Minn.: The Cardinals ended a 35-game losing streak at Gustavus, as Saint Mary's rode the lethal one-two punch of Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) and Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) to an 86-81 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win — their first victory in St. Peter, Minn., since the 1982-83 season | Recap
• January 26, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals, who put a season-high five players in double figures, used an 11-1 game-ending run to pull away from Gustavus 79-64 — and in the process, Saint Mary's not only snapped its season-high eight-game losing streak, but the Cardinals also completed their first season sweep of the Gusties since beating GAC 86-78 and 91-81 during the 1979-80 season | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: After back-to-back home games, the Cardinals hit the road on Saturday, heading to Hamline's Hutton Arena for a 1 p.m. MIAC matchup against the Pipers.
• Gustavus: The Gusties take to the road on Saturday, traveling to Bethel's Robertson Center Gym for a 1 p.m. conference showdown against the Royals.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Gustavus is the Cardinals' second straight home game. Saint Mary's is 4-1 on their home court this season, while going 2-3 away from the Saint Mary's Gym. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) scored a season-high 32 points against Augsburg Monday night, while Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) each chipped in 10. … Cave's 32-point effort against the Auggies Monday 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 has now scored 10 or more points in all 11 games this season ­— and netted 20 or more points six times this season and 16 times in his collegiate career. … Cave missed out on his first double-double of the season by one assist against Augsburg Monday, finishing with a career-high nine helpers. … The Cardinals boast three players who have scored single-game career-highs of 10 of more points this season — Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill. / 26 v. Luther on Nov. 17), Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla. / 14 points v. U. of Dubuque on Dec. 31), 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 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. … Cave enters Wednesday's home game against Gustavus leading the team in scoring, averaging 19.8 ppg. … Anthony (10.1 ppg) is also averaging in double figures, followed by Rosner (8.4 ppg), Gleason (8.2 ppg), and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill. / 8.2 ppg), Rosner (8.2 ppg). … Cave and Anthony share the team lead in rebounds with 53, with Anthony-Bello third with 52. … Anthony has recorded 10 or more rebounds three times this season. … Cave is the team-leader with 36 assists and 14 blocks, while Anthony-Bello owns a team-leading 24 steals, one more than Cave. … 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 five times this season, including a season-high 11 against Crown on Nov. 15. … Gleason owns a team-best 23 3-pointers, followed by Cave (21), Anthony-Bello (16), and Rosner (13). … As a team, Saint Mary's is 299-for-679 (.440) from the field — including 91-for-254 (.358) from behind the arc — and is 134-for-196 (.684) 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 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's is the first of three straight road games for the Gusties, who are 4-3 at home, but winless (0-5) away from Gus Young Court. … With their 93-82 win over Carleton on Monday, the Gusties put an end to their season-high three-game losing streak. … Gustavus heads into Wednesday's showdown with Saint Mary's having dropped five of its last seven. … Gustavus put five players in double figures in Monday's win over Carleton, led by Logan Rezac and Kaleb Feahn with 21 points each. … Gustavus got 48 points from its bench in Monday's win over the Knights. … Gustavus enters Wednesday's matchup against Saint Mary's boasting three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Feahn (16.3 ppg), Rezac (14.4 ppg), and Nolan Malo (10.3 ppg). … With his 21-point effort against Carleton Monday, Rezac has now posted back-to-back 21-point games and has scored 20 or more points four times this season. … Jake Guse is the team's rebounding leader with 73 boards (6.1 rpg), one more than Rezac (72, 6.0 rpg). … Benji Lundberg owns the team lead in assists with 45, followed by Isaac Douglas (44) and Rezac (35). … Douglas has collected a team-best 13 steals, while Guse has accounted for 30 of the team's 58 blocked shots. … Gustavus has knocked down 103 3-pointers this season — including a season-high 13 treys against Carleton Monday night. … Douglas leads the Gustie 3-point parade with 23, followed by Rezac (18), Malo (16), Feahn (12), Peter Lundquist (11), and Lundberg (11). … As a team, Gustavus is shooting 45.0 percent from the field (336-for-747), while going 103-for-287 from the 3-point line (.359) and 128-for-191 from the free throw line (.670). … Gustavus, which is averaging 75.2 ppg, has scored 80 or more points in a game three times this season — tossing in 88 against Hamline in an 88-81 overtime win on Dec. 4, while netting 91 in a 110-91 loss to Pomona-Pitzer, and netting a season-high 93 in Monday's 93-82 win over Carleton.