ST. PETER, Minn. — The last time the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team locked horns with Gustavus, the end result was a three-point Gustie victory.
 
Saturday afternoon, the two teams were at it again — and for the second straight meeting, the end result was a three-point decision.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that three-point outcome did not favor them, as Gustavus scored the game's final five points, erasing a late SMU lead and dealing Saint Mary's a 74-71 conference-opening setback at Gus Young Court.
 
Neither team could gain much separation through the game's opening 20 minutes, with both teams taking turns playing with the lead. After five ties and seven lead changes, the Cardinals appeared to take control, using a 10-3 burst to grab their biggest lead of the game, 26-19, with 9:39 to play.
 
The Gusties, however, refused to let the Cardinals run away and hide, answering SMU's 10-3 run with a 13-3 run of their own to regain the lead at 32-29. Saint Mary's outscored GAC 6-5 to close out the half and get within two, 37-35, at the break.
 
And the second half proved to be every bit as nail-biting as the first.
 
Gustavus held control early, leading by as many as six, 59-53, only to have the Cardinals rattle off nine unanswered points for a four-point, 62-59 lead with 6:30 to play.
 
The Gusties responded with four straight points to knot the game at 62-62 with 5:47 on the clock, and, over the next four minutes, the game would be tied three more times — including 69-69 with just over a minute left in regulation.
 
Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill.) knocked down a jumper to give SMU a 71-69 lead, but GAC's Jordan Schommer would answer with a three-point play and a pair of free throws over the final 24 seconds to seal the Gusties' four-point win.  
 
Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) led the way for the Cardinals, scoring 19 points and adding 10 assists for his third straight double-double. The senior missed his first collegiate triple-double by two rebounds, finishing with a team-best eight boards. Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) also scored in double figures for Saint Mary's, netting 13 points.
 
As a team, the Cardinals shot 51.7 percent from the field (30-for-58) with six 3-pointers, and were 5 of 9 from the free throw line. GAC, which put four players in double figures in scoring — led by Spencer Swanson with 20 — went 28-for-47 from the field (59.6 %) with 12 3-pointers and a 6 of 11 effort from the free throw line.
 
The Cardinals (0-1 MIAC, 1-2 overall) are back in action on Tuesday, when they return home to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. conference matchup against Macalester.
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