SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(4-8 MIAC, 6-10 OVERALL)

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ST. SCHOLASTICA SAINTS

(1-11 MAC, 3-14 OVERALL)

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EARLIER THIS YEAR:

Dec. 4, 2021

W, 68-66 * Series History

SAINT MARY'S LAST ACTION:

Jan 26, 2022 * Hamline * W, 69-58

ST. SCHOLASTICA LAST ACTION: 

Jan. 26, 2022 * Northwestern * W, 75-73

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Feb. 2, 2022 * Gustavus

St. Peter, Minn. * 7:00

ST. SCHOLASTICA UP NEXT: 

Feb. 2, 2022 * Hamline

St. Paul, Minn. * 7:00

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference matchup against St. Scholastica sitting at 6-10 overall, while boasting a 4-8 record in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals put three players in double figures — 18 points from Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.), 16 from Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), and a double double of 15 points and 12 rebounds from Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) — as the Cardinals dropped Hamline 69-58 at the Saint Mary’s Gym Wednesday.

• BACK HOME: Saint Mary’s Saturday showdown with St. Scholastica is the third straight home game for the Cardinals, who hosted Macalester and Hamline in its previous two games. Saint Mary’s owns a 4-5 record on the road, while winning two of its seven home contests this season.

• CLOSE CALLS: Nine of Saint Mary’s 16 games this season have been decided by 11 points or less, including its last two games — a 76-72 loss at Macalester and a 69-58 win over Hamline.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Anthony — who has scored 10 or more points 11 times this season, including five games with 20 or more points — enters SMU’s matchup with St. Scholastica averaging 17.6 ppg, followed by Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn. / 8.7 ppg), Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 7.9 ppg), and Buysman (7.0 ppg). … Anthony has led the team in scoring in eight of its last 13 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. 

• CAREER NIGHT x 2: Sawyer and Buysman each recorded single-game career-high performances against Hamline Wednesday, with Sawyer scoring 18 points — including 10-for-10 from the free throw line — while Buysman chipped in 16 points. … All 18 of Sawyer’s points against the Pipers came in the second half.

• CAREER SCORING PERFORMANCES: Saint Mary’s has had nine players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Anthony (35 v. St. Scholastica), Freetly (23 v. Macalester), Frechette (18 v. Mary Hardin-Baylor; v. Crown), Sawyer (18 v. Hamline), Buysman (16 v. Hamline), Ziegler 15 v. Hamline), Hunter Phillips (Minong, Wis. / 13 v. Martin Luther), Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill. / 12 v. Concordia), and Bruce Lockwood (Shakopee, Minn. / 10 v. Gustavus).

• DOUBLING UP: Anthony picked up his third double-double of the season against Hamline on Wednesday, scoring 15 points and adding 12 rebounds. … 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 eight 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.

• 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 17.6 ppg scoring average, Anthony also leads the team in rebounds with 120 (8.6 rpg), while Freetly is second with 67 (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 122 3-pointers through 16 games, led by Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) with 25, followed by Freetly with 17, Frechette with 17, Sawyer with 12, and Buysman with 12. … SMU boasts 11 players who have recorded at least one 3-pointer this season. … The Cardinals — who have recorded 10 or more treys in a game three this season — attempted a season-high 34 3-pointers against Hamline on Nov. 23.

• LENDING A HAND: Saint Mary’s has dished out 197 assists, including a season-high 17 against Mary Hardin-Baylor on Dec. 30. Anthony leads the team with 58 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.

• PERFECT FROM THE LINE: Sawyer was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line against Hamline Wednesday. His 10 free throws were the most since Anthony knocked down 13 of 15 attempts against Augsburg on Feb. 5, 2020. … Sawyer’s effort against the Pipers marks the first time since Michael Burfeind on Jan. 12, 2013 that an SMU player has gone 10-for-10 from the line.

• FEW TRIED: Saint Mary’s attempted 13 free throws against Hamline Wednesday, with just two players — Sawyer and Anthony — accounting for all 13 attempts.

• AS A TEAM: The Cardinals are shooting 40.3 percent from the field (396-for-982), with 122 3-pointers, and are 143-for-228 (62.7 percent) from the free throw line. Saint Mary’s is averaging 66.1 ppg, with their opponents scoring at a 67.9 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 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.

• FOR THE RECORD: The Saints head into their Saturday’s showdown against Saint Mary’s sitting at 3-14 overall, while owning a 1-11 record during their first season in the MIAC.

• LAST TIME OUT: Jack Sligen scored 17 points and missed a double-double by one point, as St. Scholastica edged Northwestern — the Saints’ former rival in the UMAC — 75-73 in a nonconference game in St. Paul, Minn., Wednesday.

• LIKE OLD TIMES: Wednesday’s game against Northwestern marked the teams’ first meeting since the Saints jumped to the MIAC at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year — and their first showdown since the Eagles dealt CSS a 74-61 setback in the UMAC Tournament title game a year ago.

• STREAK-SNAPPER: The Saints’ two-point win over Northwestern Wednesday snapped a four-game losing streak, dating back to a 74-73 overtime win over Bethel on Jan. 10. CSS’s OT win over Bethel also put an end to a lengthy, nine-game losing streak for the Saints.

• CLOSE CALLS: Eleven of St. Scholastica’s 17 games have been decided by 10 points or less — including all three of CSS’s victories.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: St. Scholastica heads to Saint Mary’s boasting three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Sligen (14.8 ppg), Nick Carlson (13.4 ppg), and Quinn Fischer (12.0 ppg). … Sligen has scored 10 or more points in 13 of the team’s 17 games — including a 22-point effort against UW-River Falls on Nov. 10 and a season-high 29-point showing vs. Bethany Lutheran on Dec. 30.

• HITTING THE BOARDS: Along with his team-leading 14.8 ppg scoring average, Sligen also leads the Saints with 115 rebounds (7.2 rpg). Fischer has also eclipsed the 100-rebound mark this season, owning 105 boards (7.5 rpg). … Sligen and Fischer both own two double doubles for the Saints this season.

• FROM DOWNTOWN: St. Scholastica has poured in 108 3-pointers in 17 games this season, led by Carlson with 26 treys. Six other Saints have knocked down 10 or more 3-pointers — Isiah Hendrickson (13), Fischer (13), Sligen (12), Cade Goggleve (11), Connor Bich (11), and Noah Winesett. 

• LENDING A HAND: Sligen has dished out a team-high 33 assists, followed by Hendrickson with 27, Fischer with 24, and Carlson with 23.

• AS A TEAM: The Saints are shooting 41.5 percent from the field (413-for-994) with 108 3-pointers and are 196-for-313 (62.6 percent) from the free throw line. … CSS is averaging 66.5 ppg, while the Saints’ opponents are scoring at a 75.1 ppg clip. … St. Scholastica has scored 70 or more points five times this season — going 2-3 in those five games. The Saints scored a season-high 90 points against Carleton Dec. 1, falling to the Knights 96-90.

• WORKING OVERTIME: The Saints have played two overtime games this season, falling to UW-River Falls 77-76 on Nov. 10, while beating Bethel 74-73 on Jan. 10.