ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team kicked off the 2022-23 season in impressive fashion Tuesday evening, as the Cardinals put four players in double figures — led by
Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) with 30 — and pulled away in the second half in dealing Crown an 81-69 nonconference setback.
The first half was a see-saw affair through most of the 20-minute period, with the Cardinals carrying the upper hand early, while the Polars wrestled away the momentum — and the lead in the later going — grabbing a 29-24 edge with less than five minutes to play. The lead did not last long, however, as Saint Mary's closed the half by outscoring Crown 15-9 to take a one-point, 39-38 edge into the locker room at the break.
Crown came out swinging to open the second half, scoring the first six points to grab a 44-40 advantage. Unfazed, the Cardinals answered with six consecutive points — all by
Nick Falls (Plymouth, Wis.) — to regain the lead, 48-46.
And the Cardinals would not trail again.
Leading by three, 59-56, Saint Mary's used a 9-2 run to push its advantage to double digits for the first time, 69-58, with five minutes remaining in regulation. The Cardinals would push that lead to as many as 13, 80-67 on an Anthony dunk that put an exclamation point on the senior's 28-point night — and iced SMU's season-opening victory.
Anthony, who went 9 of 14 from the field, and was 12-for-15 from the free throw line, added 11 rebounds to record his 10th career double-double.
Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) and
Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) chipped in 14 points, while
Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) finished with 11. As a team, Saint Mary's shot 46.0 percent from the field (28-for-60) with six 3-pointers and were 19 of 25 from the free throw line.
The Cardinals (1-0 overall) are back in action on Saturday, when they kick off the home portion of their 2022-23 schedule with a 3 p.m. nonconference showdown against Augustana (Ill.).
