By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team is back on the road on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to Concordia's Memorial Auditorium for a 1 p.m. conference showdown against the Cobbers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-7 MIAC, 9-9 Overall) at Concordia Cobbers (0-13 MIAC, 2-16 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — January 29 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals, staring at a 10-point, second-half deficit, erupted for 17 unanswered points and never looked back, dropping the Scots 66-61 Wednesday evening in a Minnesota intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup | Recap
• Concordia — January 29, 2020 * West Gym * Northfield, Minn.: A 22-4 run midway through the first half proved to be the difference, as Carleton broke open a tight game and cruised to an 83-60 win over the Cobbers | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia — Earlier This Year:
• December 7, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Fueled by a stifling defense — and four players in double figures — the Cardinals had little trouble dispatching of the visiting Cobbers, rolling to a 69-54 conference win | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia — A Year Ago:
• December 5, 2018 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals got 19-point performances from both Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn.) as Saint Mary's snapped a 27-game conference losing streak with a 71-64 win over the Cobbers | Recap
• January 16, 2019 * Memorial Auditorium * Moorhead, Minn.: The Cobbers raced out to a 14-point halftime lead — and held off a furious Cardinals second-half rally — in dealing Saint Mary's a 67-60 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Wednesday, heading to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference matchup against the Auggies.
• Concordia: The Cobbers are right back in action on Monday, returning home to Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn., for a 7 p.m. contest against Hamline in a game originally scheduled for Jan. 18.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Macalester was just the second home game in the last six games for the Cardinals, who are 4-4 on their home court, while going 5-5 away from the Saint Mary's Gym. … Wednesday's 66-61 win over Macalester was the Cardinals' ninth win of the season — the most by a Saint Mary's squad since going 9-16 during the 2015-16 season. The Cardinals' six conference wins — already two more than last season — are the most since collecting seven during that same 2015-16 year, when the Cardinals went 7-13 in MIAC play. … The Cardinals enter Saturday's matchup against Concordia having won two of their last three games — with both wins by five points or less. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) scored 22 points and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 17 — with both also adding a team-best seven rebounds — in the Cardinals' 66-61 win over Macalester Wednesday. … 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 18 games this season ­— and has netted 20 or more points eight times this season and 18 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 Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) 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), Shawn Pickford (Minneapolis, Minn. / 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 Saturday's game against Concordia leading the team in scoring, averaging 18.8 ppg. Anthony (10.2 ppg) is also averaging in double figures, followed by Rosner (9.1 ppg), Anthony-Bello (8.7 ppg), and Gleason (7.3 ppg). … Cave also owns the team lead in rebounds (103, 5.7 rpg), assists (60), steals (32), 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 (27), Rosner (26), and Anthony-Bello (25). … As a team, Saint Mary's is 479-for-1093 (.438) from the field — including 140-for-402 (.348) from behind the arc — and is 210-for-305 (.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. … 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. … 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, while their 87-73 win over Hamline on Jan. 11 ended 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home games for the Cobbers, who play four of their last seven contests on their home court. … Wednesday's 83-60 loss to Carleton pushed Concordia's losing streak to 14 straight. The Cobbers are looking for their first win since beating wining back-to-back games against UW-Stout and St. Scholastica on Nov. 13 and No. 16. … Braeton Motschenbacher scored a team-high 20 points and Bryden Urie finished with 12 in the Cobbers' loss to Carleton on Wednesday. … Motschenbacher is now the third different player to lead the team in scoring in Concordia's last three games. … Concordia enters Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's boasting two players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Tommy Schyma (14.6 ppg) and Urie (10.7 ppg). … Urie also owns the team lead in rebounds with 84 (4.7 rpg) and assists with 39. … Urie and Jacob Fredrickson share the team lead with 11 steals each, and John Reiten has amassed a team-best 17 blocked shots. … The Cobbers are shooting 41.5 percent from the field (420-for-1012) — including 103-for-292 from behind the 3-point line — while knocking down 178 of 256 free throws. … Concordia boasts six players with 10 or more 3-pointers through 18 games — Urie (27), Schyma (15), Ian Schafer (14), Adam Daggett (13), Jackson Jangula (11), and Motschenbacher (10). … As a team, the Cobbers are averaging 62.4 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 78.5 ppg clip. … Concordia has netted 70 or more points five times — including a season-high 92 points in beating UW-Stout 92-90 on Nov. 13. On the flip side, the Cobbers have allowed 80 or more points six times through 18 games, including surrendering a season-high 96 points in falling to Augsburg 96-64 on Jan. 25.