By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The last time the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team squared off against Hamline, the Cardinals matched the program's single-game record with 14 3-pointers.
 
Saturday afternoon in the teams' rematch, however, the game wasn't decided from beyond the arc, but rather 15 feet from the basket.
 
Hamline knocked down 33 free throws — while the Cardinals hit only 13 — and the Pipers held off a later Saint Mary's charge in dealing SMU an 83-78 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Despite the loss, the Cardinals (9-9 in conference play) still hold down the fifth spot in the conference standings — one game in front of both Gustavus and St. Olaf with two games remaining in the regular season. Saint Mary's closes out the year at Gustavus (8-10) on Wednesday and at St. Thomas (17-1) on Saturday. The Gusties, meanwhile, have the Cardinals and Augsburg (12-5), while the Oles (8-10) have St. Thomas and Macalester (4-13) remaining.
 
Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) drilled a 3-pointer to give Saint Mary's a 3-0 lead on the Cardinals' second possession. Hamline answered by scoring eight of the next 13 to knot the game at 8-8. Hamline pushed its lead to seven, 17-10, before the Cardinals rattled off seven unanswered to pull even, 17-17.
 
From there, however, the Pipers took control, building their lead to nine, 27-19 with six minutes to play. Saint Mary's cut the deficit to five, 32-27 with under three on the clock, but Hamline responded by ending the half on a 7-2 run to take a 10-point, 39-29 lead at the break.
 
Hamline continued to hold the Cardinals at bay in the second half, leading by as many as 14 twice, including 69-55 with 4:40 remaining in regulation.
 
That's when the Cardinals went to work.
 
Saint Mary's put together a 20-5 run, highlighted by seven straight points by Cave, to take a 75-74 lead — the Cardinals' first lead since leading 10-8 early in the first quarter.
 
The Pipers, however, outscored Saint Mary's 9-3 down the stretch — including five of those nine points from the free throw line — to seal the win.
 
Cave tossed in a team-high 21 points for the Cardinals ­— who had their two-game winning streak snapped with the loss — while Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 17 points and Kareem Anthony-Bello chipped in 14.
 
The Cardinals shot 44.8 percent from the field — including 5 3-pointers in 19 attempts — but were just 13-for-20 from the free throw line. Hamline, meanwhile, went 23-for-53 from the field (42.6 percent) with four 3-pointers, but were 33-for-39 from the charity stripe.
 
Lucas Berg netted a team-best 15 points to lead five Pipers in double figures — Luke Siwek (15), Trey Prince (12), Marshall Holland (11), and Andrew Jackson (10) were the others.

The Cardinals (9-8 MIAC, 12-10 overall) hit the road for their final two games of the regular season, beginning on Wednesday when they travel to St. Peter, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference showdown against Gustavus at Gus Lund Court. The Pipers (3-14 MIAC, 5-17 overall), meanwhile, play their final road game of the season on Wednesday, traveling to Carleton's West Gym in Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference matchup against the Knights.