By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team returns home to the Saint Mary's Gym on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Carleton in a key conference battle. Opening tip is slated for 7 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (8-8 MIAC, 11-10 Overall) vs. Carleton Knights (6-11 MIAC, 9-13 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — February 8, 2020 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) poured in a team-high 18 points and Raheem Anthony chipped in 12, as the Cardinals survived a cold-shooting start to the second half and made all the key shots down the stretch in posting a 63-59 win over Bethel - snapping a 14-game losing streak against the Royals | Recap
• Carleton — February 8, 2020 * Leonard Center * St. Paul, Minn.: Macalester outscored the Knights 43-31 in the second half in dealing Carleton a 71-60 conference setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton — Earlier This Year:
• January 20, 2020 * West Gym * Northfield, Minn.: Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) drained a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining in overtime, lifting the Cardinals to a 79-77 road conference win over the Knights | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton — A Year Ago:
• December 1, 2018 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Carleton scored eight of the game's final 10 points, erasing a one-point Saint Mary's advantage, and dealing the Cardinals a 60-55 conference setback | Recap 
• January 9, 2019 * West Gym * Northfield, Minn.: For the second time in as many meetings between Carleton and Saint Mary's, the game went right down to the wire. Unfortunately for Saint Mary's, for the second straight meeting, the Knights rallied from a late second-half deficit to beat the Cardinals — this time getting back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Matthew Stritzel in the game's final minute as part of an 11-3, game-ending run that rallied the Knights to a 74-71 victory at West Gym | Recap
  
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals 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.
• Carleton: The Knights 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.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Carleton is the second of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals, who are 5-4 on their home court, while going 6-6 away from the Saint Mary's Gym this season. … The Cardinals' 63-59 win over Bethel last Saturday was the Cardinals' 11th win of the season — the most by a Saint Mary's squad since going 11-13 during the 1999-2000 season. The Cardinals' eight conference wins — already four more than last season — are the most since collecting nine during the 1999-2000 year, when the Cardinals went 9-11 in MIAC play. … The Cardinals enter Wednesday's matchup against Carleton having won four of their last six games. … The Cardinals' win over Bethel last Saturday snapped a 14-game losing streak against the Royals, dating back to Jan. 12, 2013. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and Raheem Anthony each scored in double figures in the Cardinals' win over Bethel last Saturday — Cave scored 18 and Anthony chipped in 12. … With his 19th point against Augsburg last Wednesday — a jumper with 11 minutes remaining in the second half — Cave became the 29th player in program history to reach the 1,000-career point mark. Cave enters Wednesday's matchup against Carleton with 1,023 career points. … Anthony poured in a career-high 29 points against Augsburg on Feb. 5, while Cave chipped in 25. It was the second straight game — and third time this season — the Cardinals have had two players score 20 or more points in the same game. Cave scored 27 points and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 20 in the Cardinals' 78-62 win over Concordia on Feb. 1, while Cave (27) and Anthony (26) achieved the feat against Luther on Nov. 30. … 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 21 games this season, and has netted 20 or more points 10 times this season and 20 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. … Anthony-Bello's 20-point effort against Concordia on Feb. 1 was a season-high, and one point shy of his career-best. … 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 (29 v. Augsburg on Feb. 5), 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 Wednesday's game against Carleton leading the team in scoring, averaging 19.5 ppg, followed by Anthony (11.0 ppg), Anthony-Bello (9.2 ppg), Rosner (8.9 ppg), and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 6.9 ppg). … Cave also owns the team lead in rebounds (115, 5.5 rpg), assists (68), steals (36), and blocked shots (18). … Anthony-Bello — who has also reached the 100-rebound mark with 105 boards — is second in steals with 34. … The Cardinals knocked down 13 3-pointers against Concordia on Feb. 1, marking the eighth time this season they have netted 10 or more treys in a game. … Saint Mary's equaled the program's single-game school record with 14 3-pointers against Hamline on Jan. 11. … Saint Mary's, which drained a single-season school record 233 3-pointers a year ago has netted 162 3-pointers this season. … Gleason owns a team-best 35 3-pointers, followed by Cave (33), Rosner (31), Anthony-Bello (31), and Pickford (10). … As a team, Saint Mary's is 560-for-1268 (.442) from the field — including 162-for-466 (.348) from behind the arc — and is 247-for-360 (.686) 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 five times this season — and 11 times in the last two seasons. … 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 Carleton Knights:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's is the second of back-to-back road games for the Knights, who are 5-8 on the road, while going 4-5 on their home court at West Gym. ... Last Saturday's 70-61 loss to Macalester marked the third straight game decided by nine points or less - including a one-point, 70-69 win over Gustavus and a four-point loss to Augsburg. ... Carleton put three players in double figures against the Scots last Saturday, led by Kent Hanson with 16 points. Alex Battist and Jeremy Becker each chipped in 13 points. ... Hanson has now led the team in scoring eight times this season. ... The Knights enter Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's boasting four players who are averaging in double figures in scoring. Hanson leads the way with a 19.8 ppg scoring average,, followed by Jeremy Beckler (17.4 ppg), Alex Battist (16.0 ppg), and Isaac Tessler (13.0 ppg). ... Hanson leads three Knights with 100 or more rebounds, hauling in 184 boards (8.8 rpg) through 22 games. Battist has hauled in 138 (7.7 rpg) and Beckler is sitting at 104 (4.7 rpg). ... Henry Bensen has amassed a team-leading 106 assists, while also leading the team in steals with 37, six more than Tessler. ... Beckler leads the Knights with 25 blocked shots, followed by Battist with 15. ... Carleton has drained 161 3-pointers this season, led by Hanson with 52. ... Hanson is one of six Carleton players with 10 or more 3-pointers - Beckler (36), Beck Page (31), Tessler (17), Bensen (14), and Battist (10) are the others. ... As a team, Carleton is shooting 47.4 percent from the field (592-for-1250) — including 161-for-445 from behind the 3-point line — and has hit 289 of 428 free throws. ... Carleton is averaging 74.3 ppg and has eclipsed the 80-point mark eight times - including 90-point efforts in beating Bethany Lutheran 97-91 and Finlandia 98-79.