By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team is back in action on Saturday, as the Cardinals host Bethel in a 1 p.m. conference matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-8 MIAC, 10-10 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (11-4 MIAC, 14-6 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — February 5, 2020 * Si Melby Hall * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Cardinals got a career-high 29 points from Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) and Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) eclipsed the 1,000-career point mark, but it was not enough, as Augsburg pulled away for a 95-80 conference win | Recap
• Bethel — February 5, 2020 * Robertson Center Gym * Arden Hills, Minn.: The Royals outscored Concordia 46-36 in the second half, breaking a 27-27 halftime time, and fueling Bethel to its fourth straight win, a 73-63 victory | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel — Earlier This Year:
• January 4, 2020 * Robertson Center Gym * Arden Hills, Minn.: Bethel used a number of lengthy runs — not to mention knocking down 14 3-pointers — in dealing Saint Mary's an 84-57 conference setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
• January 7, 2019 * Robertson Center Gym * Arden Hills, Minn.: Bethel knocked down 15 3-pointers — and survived an incredible 18-point second-half showing from Saint Mary's Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill.) — in dropping the Cardinals 87-61 | Recap
• February 6, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Bethel took advantage of three Saint Mary's turnovers in the waning minutes and scored the game's final seven points — rallying from an 83-81 deficit to beat the Cardinals 88-83 | Recap
  
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on their home floor on Wednesday, playing host to Carleton in a key conference showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.
• Bethel: The Royals return home to Robertson Center Gym in Arden Hills, Minn., on Wednesday, squaring off against St. Thomas in a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Bethel is the first of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals, who are 4-4 on their home court, while going 6-6 away from the Saint Mary's Gym this season. … The Cardinals' 78-62 win over Concordia on Feb. 1 was the Cardinals' 10th win of the season — the most by a Saint Mary's squad since going 11-13 during the 1999-2000 season. The Cardinals' seven conference wins — already three more than last season — are the most since collecting seven during the 2015-16 year, when the Cardinals went 7-13 in MIAC play. … The Cardinals enter Saturday's matchup against Bethel having won three of their last five games. … With his 19th point against Augsburg last Wednesday — a jumper with 11 minutes remaining in the second half — Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) became the 29th player in program history to reach the 1,000-career point mark. Cave enters Saturday's matchup against Bethel with 1,005 career points. … Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) poured in a career-high 29 points against Augsburg last Wednesday, 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 20 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 Saturday's game against Bethel leading the team in scoring, averaging 19.6 ppg, followed by Anthony (10.9 ppg), Anthony-Bello (9.3 ppg), Rosner (8.9 ppg), and Gleason (7.0 ppg). … Cave also owns the team lead in rebounds (110, 5.5 rpg), assists (64), and blocked shots (18). … Anthony-Bello — who has also reached the 100-rebound mark with 100 boards — owns a team-high 34 steals, one more than Cave. … 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 159 3-pointers this season. … Gleason owns a team-best 34 3-pointers, followed by Cave (32), Rosner (31), Anthony-Bello (30), and Martin (10). … As a team, Saint Mary's is 536-for-1214 (.442) from the field — including 159-for-453 (.351) from behind the arc — and is 235-for-345 (.681) 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 Bethel Royals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Bethel closes out the regular-season playing three of its last five games on the road — beginning with Saturday's matchup at Saint Mary's. … The Royals are 8-2 on the road this season, while going 6-4 on their home court at Robertson Center Gym. … With Wednesday's 73-63 win over Concordia, Bethel pushed its winning streak to four straight. … Bethel kicked off its current four-game win streak with a 70-54 victory over Carleton on Jan. 22 — a win that snapped the Royals' first two-game losing streak of the season. … Bethel boasted a pair of 20-point scorers in Wednesday's win over Concordia — Jack Jenson netted a season-high 23 points, while Chandler Wellman chipped in a career-best 21 points. … Bethel enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's boasting four players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Granger Kingland (13.8 ppg), Isaiah Carver-Bagley (13.7 ppg), Jenson (13.1 ppg), and Hudson Urbanus (11.8 ppg). … Carver-Bagley is the team's rebounding leader with 103 (5.2 rpg), followed by Jenson with 97 (4.9 rpg) and Kingland with 93 (7.2 rpg). … Jenson holds the team lead in both assists (69) and steals (31). … Bethel has knocked down 183 3-pointers through 20 games, led by Carver-Bagley (40), Urbanus (35), Jamal Davis (29), Kingland (26), and Noah Whalen (24). … As a team, Bethel is shooting 47.2 percent from the field (534-for-1131) — including 183-for-489 from behind the 3-point line — and has connected on 210 of 293 free throw attempts. … Bethel's 27-27 halftime deadlock against Concordia Wednesday marked the first time this season that the Royals have been tied at the break. … The Royals, who are averaging 73.0 ppg, have scored 80 or more points six times this season, including a season-high 100 points in their season-opening 100-82 win over Crown on Nov. 9. … Bethel's 100-point effort against Crown on Nov. 9 marked the fifth time in the last seven years the Royals have reached the century mark.