SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(3-7 MIAC, 5-9 OVERALL)

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MACALESTER SCOTS

(3-7 MAC, 6-9 OVERALL)

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EARLIER THIS YEAR:

Nov. 20, 2021

W, 63-61 * Series History

SAINT MARY'S LAST ACTION:

Jan. 19, 2022 * St. John’s * L, 80-53

MACALESTER LAST ACTION: 

Jan. 19, 2022 * St. Olaf * W, 58-56

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Jan. 26, 2022 * Hamline

Winona, Minn. * 7:00

MACALESTER UP NEXT: 

Jan. 26, 2022 * Concordia

St. Paul, Minn. * 7:00

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference matchup against Macalester sitting at 5-9 overall, while boasting a 3-7 record in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals trailed Saint John’s by three, 45-42, with 12 minutes to play in regulation, but the Johnnies went on a 17-0 run and outscored SMU 35-11 over that 12-minute stretch in dealing Saint Mary’s an 80-53 setback Wednesday in Collegeville, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: After back-to-back road games, the Cardinals play their next three contests on their home court, beginning Saturday against Macalester. SMU will also host Hamline (Wednesday) and St. Scholastica (Jan. 29) at the Saint Mary’s Gym, before hitting the road on Feb. 2 to face Gustavus. … Saint Mary’s owns a 4-5 record on the road, while winning just one of its five home contests this season.

• CLOSE CALLS: Seven of Saint Mary’s 14 games this season have been decided by 11 points or less — including last Saturday’s 73-67 loss to Concordia. Along with their five-point, 83-78 win over UW-Superior on Dec. 28, the Cardinals also own two-point wins over Macalester (63-61) and St. Scholastica (68-66), and a three=point win over St. Olaf (63-60), while the SMU’s four losses were a three-point setback vs. Hamline (67-64), a seven-point loss to Concordia (73-67), a 10-point loss against Saint John’s (73-63), and an 11-point loss to Carleton (58-47) on Jan. 8.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) — who has scored 10 or more points 10 times, including five games with 20 or more points — enters SMU’s matchup with Macalester averaging 18.4 ppg, followed by Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn. / 8.2 ppg), Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 7.7 ppg), and Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis. / 7.0 ppg). … Anthony, whose 18.4 ppg average is second in the MIAC behind Augsburg’s Joe Palmer (22.3 ppg), has led the team in scoring in eight of its last 11 games.

• GREATER THAN 20: Anthony has poured in 20 or more points in a game five times, the most recent a 20-point showing against Crown on Jan. 3. He has also eclipsed 20 points by netting 22 against UW-Superior on Dec. 28; 23 against Saint John’s on Dec. 1; 24 vs. St. Olaf on Dec. 8; and a career-high 35 against St. Scholastica on Dec. 4. Anthony has now scored 20 or more points 10 times in his career.

• CARRYING THE LOAD: Anthony’s career-high 35-point performance against St. Scholastica on Dec. 4 accounted for more than half of the Cardinals’ 68 points — and was the team’s highest single-game performance since Eli Cave scored 35 against Martin Luther on Nov. 18, 2018. 

• DOUBLING UP: Anthony picked up his second double-double of the season against UW-Superior on Dec. 28, scoring 22 points and adding a career-high 14 rebounds, and followed that up with Monday’s 20-point, 15-rebound double-double. … Freetly recorded his first double-double of the season — and third of his collegiate career — against Crown on Jan. 3, scoring 11 points and adding 10 rebounds. … Anthony — who now owns seven doubles-doubles in his three year SMU career — missed his first collegiate triple-double by one assist against UW-Superior on Dec. 28.

• SEEING DOUBLE: The double-doubles by Anthony (20 points, 15 rebounds) and Freetly (11 points, 10 rebounds) against Crown on Jan. 3 marked the first time since Wylie Ferron scored 16 points and added 11 boards, and Quashingm Smith-Pugh chipped in 11 points and 11 rebounds, against Martin Luther on Nov. 15, 2016 that the Cardinals had two players record double-doubles in the same game.

• CAREER SCORING PERFORMANCES: Saint Mary’s has had eight players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Anthony (35 v. St. Scholastica), Frechette (18 v. Mary Hardin-Baylor; v. Crown), Ziegler 15 v. Hamline), Hunter Phillips (Minong, Wis. / 13 v. Martin Luther), Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill. / 12 v. Concordia), Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / 11 v. St. Olaf), Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill. / 11 v. Macalester), and Bruce Lockwood (Shakopee, Minn. / 10 v. Gustavus).

• DOUBLE DIGITS x 5: The Cardinals put a season-high five players in double figures against Concordia last Saturday. Freetly led the way with 17 points, followed by Anthony with 14, Mallory with 12, Buysman with 11, and Frechette with 10. … The Cardinals’ performance against Concordia marked the first time since Jan. 11, 202 that SMU has had five players score 10 or more points in the same game.

• PLENTY OF OPTIONS: All 10 SMU players who saw playing time against Bethel on Dec. 11 scored at least two points. … Eleven of the 12 Cardinals who took the court against Augustana on Nov. 16 recorded at least two points.

• ON THE GLASS: Along with his team-leading 18.4 ppg scoring average, Anthony also leads the team — and is second in the MIAC — in rebounds with 105 (8.8 rpg), while Freetly is second with 59 (4.5 rpg). … Saint Mary’s recorded a season-high 54 rebounds against Crown on Jan. 3.

• GOING DEEP: The Cardinals drained a season-high 12 3 pointers against Saint John’s on Dec. 1. … SMU’s 12 3-pointers were just two shy of the single-game school record. … Saint Mary’s has knocked down 103 3-pointers through 14 games, led by Ziegler with 23, followed by Freetly with 15 and Frechette with 13. … SMU boasts 11 players who have recorded at least one 3-pointer this season. … The Cardinals attempted a season-high 34 3-pointers against Hamline on Nov. 23.

• LENDING A HAND: Saint Mary’s has dished out 173 assists, including a season-high 17 against Mary Hardin-Baylor on Dec. 30. Anthony leads the team with 50 helpers, while six other Cardinals own at least 10 assists… Anthony’s nine assists against UW-Superior on Dec. 28 were a season- and career-high.

• AS A TEAM: The Cardinals are shooting 39.5 percent from the field (343-for-869), with 103 3-pointers, and are 116-for-193 (60.1 percent) from the free throw line. Saint Mary’s is averaging 64.6 ppg, with their opponents scoring at a 70.7 ppg clip. … The Cardinals scored a season-high 83 points in their 83-78 win over UW-Superior on Dec. 28. Saint Mary’s posted season-highs in field goals (30) and field goals attempted (74) against Gustavus on Jan. 5.

• WORKING OVERTIME: Saint Mary’s 79-73 loss to Augustana on Nov. 16 was its first overtime game since beating Carleton 79-77 on Feb. 12, 2020. Saint Mary’s finished 2-0 in overtime games during the 2019-20 season.

• STREAK-SNAPPER: The Cardinals’ 63-60 win over St. Olaf on Dec. 8 was their first win in Northfield since beating the Oles 66-57 on Jan. 16, 2013.

• INDIVIDUAL HONORS: Anthony was named to the D3hoop.com Classic All-Tournament Team on Dec. 31 and the D3hoops.com Team of the Week on Dec. 4. It was his second and third individual honors of the season, having also been named MIAC Athlete of the Week on Dec. 6. It was the second time in his collegiate career that Anthony has been named MIAC AOW.

• CONFERENCE CLIMB: Prior to its conference-opener against Macalester on Nov. 20, Saint Mary’s had not played an official MIAC game since the 2019-20 season, when the Cardinals finished 10-10 and earned their first MIAC Tournament berth since 1985. Saint Mary’s made its first MIAC Tournament appearance since 1985 in 2019-20, collecting the program’s first postseason victory with its 72-59 quarterfinal win over Bethel on Feb. 25. … SMU’s 10 MIAC wins in 2019-20 were the most since going 11-9 during the 1999-2000 season.

• FOR THE RECORD: Macalester hits the road and heads to the Saint Mary’s Gym boasting a 6-9 overall record, including a 3-7 mark in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Caleb Williams scored 21 points and Macalester rallied from a five-point halftime deficit, outscoring St. Olaf 36-29 over the game’s final 20 minutes en route to a 58-56 win over the Oles Wednesday in Northfield, Minn.

• END OF THE ROAD: Saturday’s game at Saint Mary’s is the second of back-to-back road games for the Scots, who will play their next three contests on their home court, beginning Wednesday against Concordia. … Macalester owns a 3-5 record on its home floor, while going 3-4 away from Leonard Center Gym.

• ON A ROLL: After dropping nine of its previous 10 games, the Scots enter Saturday’s matchup with Saint Mary’s having won two straight — beating Bethel 72-63 last Saturday and St. Olaf 58-56 on Wednesday.

• LEADERS OF THE PACK: The Scots boast three players who come into Saturday’s matchup scoring in double figures — Williams (17.6 ppg), Coby Gold (10.8 ppg), and Gabriel Ramos (10.5 ppg). … Williams has scored 10 or more points in 14 of the team’s 15 games — including five games of 20 or more points. … Williams netted a season-high 29 points against UM-Morris on Nov. 11 and added 28 points against North Central two days later.

• ON THE GLASS: Along with his team-leading 17.6 ppg scoring average, Williams is also the team-leader in rebounds with 80 (5.3 rpg), followed by Gold with 70 (4.7 rpg). … Williams hauled in a season-high 11 boards against Saint Mary’s in the teams’ first meeting on Nov. 20.

• DOUBLING UP: Williams owns Macalester’s lone double-double this season, scoring 17 points and adding 11 rebounds in Macalester’s first meeting with Saint Mary’s on Nov. 20.

• GOING DEEP: The Scots have poured in 113 3-pointers through 15 games this season, led by Williams with 32 and Gold with 27. Ramos (16) and Eric Sathy (10) have also drained 10 or more treys this season. … Macalester knocked down a season-high 14 3-pointers in beating Bethel 72-63 on Jan. 15.

• LENDING A HAND: Macalester boasts eight players who have dished out 10 or more assists this season — including four with 20 or more helpers through 15 games. Gold is the team’s assist leader with 34, followed by Robert Grave IV (29), Williams (25), and Ramos (22).

• AS A TEAM: The Scots are shooting 41.3 percent from the field (367-for-888) with 113 3-pointers and have hit on 134 of 181 free throws (74.0 percent). … Macalester is averaging 65.4 ppg, while its opponents own a 70.0 ppg scoring average. … Macalester has scored 70 or more points five times this season, including a season-high 89-point performance against UM-Morris in an 89-77 win on Nov. 11.