SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(3-3 MIAC, 4-5 OVERALL)

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CROWN STORM

(1-1 UMAC, 5-7 OVERALL)

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Last Meeting: Nov. 15, 2019 * W, 68-52

Series History

SAINT MARY'S LAST ACTION:

Dec. 28, 2021 * UW-Superior * W, 83-78

Dec. 30, 2021 * Mary Hardin-Baylor * L, 84-64

CROWN LAST ACTION: 

Jan. 1, 2022 * Gustavus * L, 82-69

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Jan. 5, 2022 * Gustavus * Winona, MN * 7:00

CROWN UP NEXT: 

Jan. 8, 2022 * Northland * Ashland, WI * 3:00

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their nonconference game against Crown sitting at 4-5 overall, while boasting a 3-3 record in conference play.

• LAST ACTION: The Cardinals finished 1-1 at the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., getting a near-triple-double of 22 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists from Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) in beating UW-Superior 83-78, before getting a game-high 18 points from Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn.) to lead three players in double figures in an 84-64 loss to the 19th-ranked Cru. 

• HOME SWEET HOME: After playing seven of their first nine games on the road, Monday’s showdown with Crown is the first of three straight home games for the Cardinals, who will host Gustavus on Wednesday and Carleton on Saturday. Saint Mary’s is 4-3 on the road, while still searching for their first home win of the season (0-2).

• CLOSE CALLS: Saint Mary’s 83-78 win over UW-Superior last Tuesday marked the sixth time in their last eight contests that the game was decided by 10 points or less. Along with Tuesday’s five-point win over the Yellowjackets, 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 two losses were a three-point setback vs. Hamline (67-64) and a 10-point loss against Saint John’s (73-63) in a game that was a four-point contest with 2:30 to play in regulation.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) — who has scored 10 or more points in all seven games he’s played — enters SMU’s nonconference game against Crown averaging 20.7 ppg, followed by Frechette (8.9 ppg), Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis. / 7.6), and Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 6.6 ppg). … Anthony, whose 20.7 ppg average is second in the MIAC behind Augsburg’s Joe Palmer (23.6 ppg), has led the team in scoring in five of its last six games.

• GREATER THAN 20: Anthony has scored 20 or more points four times this season — netting 22 against UW-Superior last Tuesday, 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 Tuesday, scoring 22 points and adding a career-high 14 rebounds. He missed his first collegiate triple-double by one assist. Anthony’s other double-double this season was a 35-point, 10-rebound effort against St. Scholastica on Dec. 4. Anthony has now posted six double-doubles in his three-year collegiate career.

• CAREER SCORING PERFORMANCES: Frechette recorded a single-game career-high in points for the second time in as many games last Thursday against Mary Hardin-Baylor, finishing with a team-high 18, two more than the then-career-best 16-point effort against UW-Superior two days earlier. Saint Mary’s has now had seven 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), Ziegler 15 v. Hamline), Hunter Phillips (Minong, Wis. / 13 v. Martin Luther), Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / 11 v. St. Olaf), Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill. / 11 v. Macalester), and Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill. / 10 v. UW-Superior).

• 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. … Saint Mary’s put four players in double figures against Saint John’s on Dec. 1. Anthony led the way with 23 points, while Ziegler chipped in 12, and Freetly and Kareem Anthony-Bello each added 10.

• ON THE GLASS: Along with his team-leading 20.7 ppg scoring average, Anthony also leads the team in rebounds with 61 (8.7 rpg), followed by Freetly with 31 (3.9 rpg). … Saint Mary’s recorded a season-high 43 rebound against both Hamline and Macalester.

• 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 69 3-pointers through nine games, led by Ziegler with 17. … 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 109 assists, including a season-high 17 against Mary Hardin-Baylor last Thursday. Anthony leads the team with 28 helpers, while six other Cardinals own at least 10 assists… Anthony’s nine assists against UW-Superior last Tuesday were a season- and career-high.

• AS A TEAM: The Cardinals are shooting 39.8 percent from the field (223-for-560), with 69 3-pointers, and are 84-for-139 (60.4 percent) from the free throw line. Saint Mary’s is averaging 66.6 ppg, with their opponents scoring at a 70.9 ppg clip. … The Cardinals scored a season-high 83 points in their 83-78 win over UW-Superior Tuesday. Saint Mary’s also posted season-highs in FGM (29), FTM (19) and FTA (26) against the Yellowjackets.

• 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-SNAPPERS: The Cardinals’ loss to Bethel on Dec. 11 snapped their two-game winning streak. … Saint Mary’s 68-66 win over St. Scholastica on Dec. 4, meanwhile, put an end to SMU’s two-game losing streak. … 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. It was his second individual honor 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: Crown heads into Monday’s nonconference game against Saint Mary’s sitting at 5-7 overall, while owning a 1-1 mark in UMAC action.

• LAST ACTION: The Storm put four players in double figures — including a team-high 14 points from Cade Carroll — but it was not enough, as Gustavus jumped out to a nine-point, 45-36 lead at the half and outscoring Crown 37-33 over the game’s final 20 minutes en route to an 82-69 victory

• LONG ROAD TRIP: Monday’s matchup against Saint Mary’s is the second of five straight road games for the Storm, who have road contests at UM-Morris (Saturday), UW-Superior (Jan. 14), and Northland (Jan. 15), before finally returning home to host Martin Luther on Jan. 21.

• FAMILIAR FOES: Saint Mary’s is the last of five games against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for the Storm, who have already faced Augsburg (L, 92-74), Bethel (L, 76-59), Macalester (W, 68-65), and Gustavus (L, 82-69).

• SEASON OF STREAKS: It’s been a streaky year for the Storm, who opened the season with back-to-back wins, only to lose their next three. Crown is currently in the midst of its third two-game losing streak of the year.

• OFFENSIVE LEADERS: The Storm head to Winona, Minn., boasting three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring, led by Carroll with a 15.1 ppg scoring average. Seth Royston (14.0 ppg), and Micah Ladd (11.4 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. … Carroll has netted 10 or more points a team-high seven times, while Ladd has scored in double figures six times— including a season- and team-high 28-point effort against Northwestern on Dec. 10.

• HITTING THE BOARDS: Along with his team-leading scoring average, Carroll also leads the team in rebounds with 79 (8.8 rpg). Royston (51, 5.1 rpg), Alec Testerman (47, 3.9 rpg), and Jacob Van Dam (44, 3.7 rpg) have also hauled in 40 or more boards this season.

• DOUBLING UP: Carroll has collected a team-leading three double-doubles this season — posting double figures in points and rebounds against Lakeland (19 pts., 10 reb.), Augsburg (13 pts., 13 reb.), and Macalester (23 pts., 12 reb.). Royston owns a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double against UW-La Crosse, and Ladd put together a 28-point, 10-assist showing against Northwestern.

• LENDING A HAND: Ladd has been an assist machine for the Storm this season, dishing out 65 helpers through 12 games, including 10 assists against both Northwestern on Dec. 10 and North Central (Minn.) the following afternoon.

• GOING DEEP: Van Dam has knocked down a team-high 21 3-pointers this season, one more than Royston, while Carroll and Ladd have each poured in 13 treys. Crown has gotten at least one 3-pointer from 10 different players this season.

• AS A TEAM: Crown is shooting 42.2 percent from the field (318-for-754) with 86 3-pointers and is 125-for-188 (66.5 percent) from the free throw line. The Storm are averaging 70.6 ppg, with their opponents scoring at a 77.0 ppg clip. … Crown has scored 80 or more points twice this season — netting 85 in a four-point, 85-81 season-opening win over Lakeland, and tossing in a season-high 90 points in beating Beloit 90-62 the following afternoon.