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 Saturday, as the Cardinals honor their three graduating seniors prior to their 1 p.m. opening tip against Hamline
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-8 MIAC, 12-10 Overall) vs. Hamline (3-14 MIAC, 5-17 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — February 12, 2020 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals maintained their stranglehold on the fifth spot in the conference standings, getting double-figure scoring from three players en route to a 74-55 win over Carleton | Recap
• Hamline — February 12, 2020 * Hutton Arena * St. Paul, Minn.: Augsburg raced out to a 48-35 lead at the half, and the Pipers never recovered, falling to the Auggies 91-78 | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline — Earlier This Year:
• January 11, 2020 * Hutton Arena * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals put five player in double figures — led by Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) with 21 points — and used a 22-5 run late in the second half to pull away from the pesky Pipers en route to an 87-73 conference win | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline — A Year Ago:
• January 2, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's — coming off a 76-67 win over North Park — could not cool off the hot-shooting Pipers early on, as Hamline outscored the Cardinals 31-12 in the final 12 minutes of the opening half and never looked back in dropping SMU 76-57 | Recap
• February 4, 2019 * Hutton Arena * St. Paul, Minn.: Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) combined for 44 points — Cave pouring in 23 and Freetly adding a career best 21 — but it was not enough, as Hamline got a 3-pointer from Trey Prince in the waning seconds, breaking a 65-65 tie and leading the Pipers to a 68-65 conference win | Recap
  
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals 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.
• Hamline: The Pipers 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.
 
MIAC Tournament Picture:
• Saint John's (18-0) and St. Thomas (16-1) have already locked up two of the six post-season berths, with Augsburg (12-5) sitting third, followed by Bethel (11-6), Saint Mary's (9-8), Gustavus (8-9) and St. Olaf (8-9) with three games to play.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Hamline is the final regular-season home game for the Cardinals and their three graduating seniors — Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.), Kristjan Meitz (Waukesha, Wis.), and student assistant coach Jason Timm (Brillion, Wis.). … With their 74-55 win over Carleton on Wednesday, the Cardinals improved to 6-4 on their home court this season, while going 6-6 away from the Saint Mary's Gym. … With Wednesday's win over Carleton Wednesday, the Cardinals, winners of two straight and four of their last five, have now won 12 games this season — the most since going 13-12 during the 1986-87 season. Saint Mary's nine MIAC wins are also the most since going 11-9 in conference play in 1999-2000. … 
Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.), Gleason, and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) all scored in double figures in Wednesday's 74-55 win over Carleton — Cave finished with a team-best 18 points, while Gleason and Anthony-Bello chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively. … 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 22 games this season, and has netted 20 or more points 10 times this season and 20 times in his collegiate career. … With his 19th point against Augsburg on Feb. 5 — 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 Saturday's matchup against Hamline with 1,041 career points. … Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) — who had nine points and nine boards against Carleton Wednesday — 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 Anthony-Bello 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 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 three 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), and Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla. / 14 points v. St. Olaf on Jan. 25 and v. U. of Dubuque on Dec. 31). … Cave enters Saturday's game against Hamline leading the team in scoring, averaging 19.4 ppg, followed by Anthony (10.9 ppg), Anthony-Bello (9.3 ppg), Rosner (8.9 ppg), and Gleason (7.1 ppg). … Cave also owns the team lead in rebounds (119, 5.4 rpg), assists (68), steals (37), and blocked shots (19). … Anthony-Bello and Anthony have also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau with 110 and 104 boards, respectively. … 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 169 3-pointers this season. … Gleason owns a team-best 36 3-pointers, followed by Cave (34), Anthony-Bello (33), Rosner (32), and Pickford (10). … As a team, Saint Mary's is 591-for-1332 (.444) from the field — including 169-for-493 (.343) from behind the arc — and is 252-for-365 (.690) 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. On the flip side, the Cardinals attempted just five free throws — making all five — against Carleton last Wednesday. … 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. … The Cardinals' 63-59 win over Bethel last Saturday snapped a 14-game losing streak against the Royals, dating back to Jan. 12, 2013. … 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 Hamline Pipers:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back road games for the Pipers, who have recorded three of their five wins on the road this season. HU is 2-9 on its home court, while going 3-8 away from Hutton Arena. … With Wednesday's 91-78 loss to Augsburg, the Pipers have now dropped two straight and six of their last eight. … Michael Dillon scored a team-high 23 points, while Luke Siwek chipped in 16 and Trey Prince added 10 against Augsburg Wednesday. … Siwek and Dillon enter Saturday's road matchup against Saint Mary's averaging in double figures, scoring 14.7 ppg and 14.2 ppg, respectively. … Along with his 14.2 ppg scoring average, Dillon has also hauled in a team-high 146 rebounds (7.0 rpg), while also leading the Pipers in steals (20). … Prince has dished out a team-best 60 assists, followed by Lucas Berg (49) and Siwek (34), while Berg also boasts a team-high 22 blocked shots. … Hamline has knocked down 176 3-pointers, led by Dillon (47), Siwek (31), Conner Krenos (28), and Jake Veldman (17). … As a team, the Pipers are 540-for-1299 (.416) from the field — including 176-for-501 (.351) — and have knocked down 240 of 348 free throws (.690). … Hamline is averaging 68.0 ppg, while the Pipers' opponents are scoring at a 78.0 ppg clip. … The Pipers have scored 80 or more points six times — including a season-high 88-point effort in beating St. Olaf 88-84 in overtime on Jan. 29. HU is just 3-3 in games in which it scores 80 or more points in a game.