By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — And the Cardinals' stranglehold just got a little tighter.
 
The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team continued its quest for the first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament berth in 35 years on Wednesday — and thanks a convincing 74-55 win over Carleton at the Saint Mary's Gym, the Cardinals moved one step closer to achieving that milestone.
 
With the win, the Cardinals maintained their grasp on the fifth spot in the conference standings with three games to play. With a 9-8 conference record, Saint Mary's holds a one-game lead over both St. Olaf (8-9) and Gustavus (8-9) in its quest for one of the six conference post-season invitations.
 
The Cardinals dominated the first half of the opening 20 minutes, scoring 17 of the game's first 19 points — including six of their first eight by Jacob Chilson (Eau Claire, Wis.) — and led by 18, 22-4 on a basket by Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) with 11:40 to go until halftime.
 
Carleton whittled the lead to 10, 29-19 at the five-minute mark, and Beck Page drained a 3-pointer in the waning seconds to get within 12, 42-30 at the intermission.
 
The Knights scored the first five points of the second half to trim the Saint Mary's lead to seven, 42-35, but the Cardinals promptly scored 16 unanswered points for a 58-35 lead — and Carleton would get no closer than 14 the rest of the way.
 
Cave finished with a game-high 18 points, while Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively. As a team, the Cardinals shot 48.4 percent from the field (31-for-64) with seven 3-pointers and a 5-for-5 efforet from the free throw line.
 
Alex Battist and Isaac Tessier netted 14 and 11 points, respectively for the Knights, who were 17-for-52 from the field (32.7 percent), but managed just a 4 of 17 effort from behind the arc.
 
The Cardinals (9-8 MIAC, 12-10 overall) are back on their home floor on Saturday, playing host to Hamline in a key conference showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym. Opening tip is set for 1 p.m. The Knights (6-12 MIAC, 9-14 overall), meanwhile, return home to West Gym in Northfield, Minn., on Saturday, as Carleton squares off against cross-town rival St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. MIAC matchup.