SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2021-22: 6-13 MIAC, 8-18 Overall

CROWN POLARS

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2021-22: 9-5 UMAC, 17-14 Overall

LIVE ON THE WEB:

Live Stats * Streaming Video

SMU-CROWN * LAST MEETING:

Jan. 3, 2022 * Winona, MN

W, 69-58 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Feb. 19, 2022 * St. Paul, MN

Hamline * L, 89-64

CROWN * LAST ACTION:

March 12, 2022 * Joplin, MO

Campbellsville * L, 89-79

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Nov. 12, 2022 * Winona, MN

Augustana (IL) * 3 p.m.

CROWN * UP NEXT: 

Nov. 11, 2022 * Moorhead, MN

Concordia * 7 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals closed out the 2021-22 season sitting at 8-16 overall, while boasting a 6-13 record in conference play. The Cardinals finished ninth in the regular-season conference standings and enter post-season play as the ninth seed.

• POST-SEASON HONORS: Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) was named First-Team All-MIAC, while Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) was selected to the MIAC’s All-Defensive Team.

• MIAC HISTORY: Saint Mary’s made its second straight MIAC Playoff appearance in 2021-22 — and just the third post-season appearance in program history. Saint Mary’s made its first post-season appearance in 35 years following the 2019-20 season, beating Bethel 72-59 in the opening round, before falling to St. Thomas 79-66 in the semifinals. The MIAC did not have a post-season tournament in 2020-21 due to COVID-19.

• HOME ON THE ROAD: Saint Mary’s picked up five of its eight wins in 2021-22 on the road. The Cardinals finished 3-8 on their home court, while going 5-8 away from the Saint Mary’s Gym.

• CLOSE CALLS: Thirteen of Saint Mary’s 26 games a year ago were decided by 11 points or less, including six of its last 10 contests — including a 76-66 overtime loss to Carleton on Feb. 14 in which the Knights scored the game-tying basket with six second remaining, and a 65-64 loss to Concordia in which the Cobbers drained the game-winning 3-pointer with less than three seconds on the clock.

• WORKING OVERTIME: Saint Mary’s 76-66 loss to Carleton on Feb. 14, 2022 was the Cardinals’ second overtime game of the season. Saint Mary’s also dropped a 79-73 decision to Augustana on Nov. 16. The two overtime games this season were the first since SMU went 2-0 in OT games during the 2019-20 season.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Anthony, who scored 10 or more points 17 times last season, closed out the season averaging a team-leading 16.4 ppg, followed by Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn. / 10.3 ppg), Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 8.1 ppg), Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / 6.2 ppg) and Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis. / 6.1 ppg). 

• GREATER THAN 20: Anthony poured in 20 or more points in a game seven times a year ago, including back-to-back 20+ showings against Gustavus (23 points) and Bethel (22 points) on Feb. 2 and Feb. 5, respectively. … Anthony has scored 20 or more points 12 times in his career. … Frechette and Zach Kjeseth (Wabasha, Minn.) were the only other Cardinals to eclipse the 20-point mark this season. Frechette recorded 20 or more points in a game four times — including a career-high 24 points against St. Scholastica on Jan. 29 — while Kjeseth delivered a career-best 20 points against Concordia last Saturday.

• TWENTY x 2: With their 22- and 20-point performances against Bethel on Feb. 5, 2022, Anthony and Frechette both scored 20 or more points in the same game twice — having also recorded 23 and 21 points, respectively, against Gustavus on Feb. 2.

• WHAT A SENIOR SEND-OFF: Kjeseth — playing his final regular-season home game — poured in a career-high 20 points to lead the Cardinals in scoring in their 65-64 loss to Concordia on Feb. 12, 2022.

• CAREER NIGHT x 2: Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) and Buysman each recorded single-game career-high performances against Hamline on Jan. 26, 2022, 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 had 10 players who recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points last season — Anthony (35 v. St. Scholastica), Frechette (24 v. St. Scholastica), Freetly (23 v. Macalester), Kjeseth (20 v. Concordia), Sawyer (18 v. Hamline), Buysman (16 v. Hamline), Ziegler 15 v. St. Scholastica, 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).

• CARRYING THE LOAD: Anthony’s career-high 35-point performance against St. Scholastica on Dec. 4, 2021 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 sixth double-double of the season in SMU’s 89-64 MIAC Playoff loss to St. Olaf on Feb. 19, 2022, scoring 15 points and adding 11 rebounds. Anthony — who now owns 10 double-doubles as a Cardinal — missed his first collegiate triple-double by one assist against UW-Superior on Dec. 28, 2021. … Freetly recorded his second double-double of the season — and fourth of his collegiate career — against Concordia on Feb. 12, 2022, netting 10 points and adding 10 rebounds.

• SEEING DOUBLE: The double-doubles by Anthony (20 points, 15 rebounds) and Freetly (11 points, 10 rebounds) against Crown on Jan. 3, 2022 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.

• OH, SO CLOSE: Lockwood missed out on his first collegiate double-double by one point against St. Olaf on Feb. 7, 2022, scoring nine points and adding a career-high 10 rebounds.

• DOUBLE DIGITS x 5: The Cardinals put a season-high five players in double figures against Concordia on Jan. 15, 2022. 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, 2020 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, 2021 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 16.4 ppg scoring average, Anthony also led the team in rebounds a year ago with 179 (8.5 rpg), while Freetly was second with 110 (5.0 rpg). … Anthony led or shared the team lead in rebounds in 16 of SMU’s 23 games. … Saint Mary’s recorded a season-high 54 rebounds against Crown on Jan. 3, 2022.

• GOING DEEP: The Cardinals drained a season-high 12 3 pointers against Saint John’s on Dec. 1, 2021. … SMU’s 12 3-pointers were just two shy of the single-game school record. … Saint Mary’s knocked down 178 3-pointers, led by Ziegler with 38 and Frechette with 34. … Ziegler posted two games with five 3-pointers. … SMU boasted 11 players who have recorded at least one 3-pointer … The Cardinals — who recorded 10 or more treys in a game five times — attempted a season-high 34 3-pointers against Hamline on Nov. 23.

• LENDING A HAND: Saint Mary’s dished out 298 assists last season, including a season-high 17 against Mary Hardin-Baylor on Dec. 30, 2021. Anthony led the team with 101 helpers, while Freetly (38) and Ziegler (31) also recorded 30 or more 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 on Jan. 26, 2022. 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 marked 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 on Jan. 26, 2022, with just two players — Sawyer and Anthony — accounting for all 13 attempts. Sawyer finished 10-for-10 and Anthony was 0-for-3.

• AS A TEAM: The Cardinals shot 41.0 percent from the field (612-for-1491) last season, with 178 3-pointers, and are 187-for-314 (59.6 percent) from the free throw line. Saint Mary’s averaged 66.2 ppg, with their opponents scoring at a 70.6 ppg clip. … The Cardinals scored a season-high 83 points in their 83-78 win over UW-Superior on Dec. 28. … SMU has recorded a season-high 30 field goals twice this season, vs. St. Scholastica on Jan. 5 and v. Bethel last Saturday.

• BIG SECOND HALF: The Cardinals’ 47 second-half points against Bethel on Feb. 5, 2022 were a season high, and marked the fifth time in 2021-22 that SMU scored 40 or more points in a half — with four of those five 40+ efforts coming in the second half.

CROWN POLARS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Polars closed out 2021-22 with a 17-14 overall record, including a 9-5 showing in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play.

• IN THE POST-SEASON: Crown, the No. 2 seed, reached the UMAC Tournament title game, falling to Northwestern 85-69. The Polars then went on to rattle off back-to-back wins over Arlington Baptist and Great Lakes Christian College, before falling to Campbellsville-Harrodsburg in the National Christian College Athletic Association national title game, 89-79.

• PROGRAM-BEST: The Polars’ 17 wins were an NCAA-era program record, while their second-place showings in both the UMAC and NCCAA Tournaments were also program firsts.

• HOME ON THE ROAD: Crown picked up 10 of its 17 wins away from the Wild Athletic Complex last season, going 7-8 on the road and 3-1 in neutral-site contests. Crown boasted a 7-5 mark on its home court.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Cade Carroll closed out 2021-22 as the Polars’s leading scorer, pouring in a team-high 514 points for a 19.0 ppg average. Carroll was one of three Crown players to average in double figures last season, being joined by Jacob Van Dam (12.1 ppg) and Seth Royston (11.4 ppg). … Carroll scored a season-high 36 points against Northwestern on Feb. 5, 2022, and closed out the year netting 10 or more points in 24 of the team’s 27 games — including 12 games with 20+ points.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Along with his team-leading 19.0 ppg scoring average, Carroll also led the Polars in rebounds with 193 (7.1 rpg). Carroll was one of four Polars players to amass 100 or more boards, being joined by Royston (171, 5.9 rpg), Van Dam (121, 4.2 rpg), and Alec Testerman (105, 3.4 rpg). … Carroll and Jacob Masek each recorded a season-high 13-rebound game — Carroll against Augsburg on Nov. 10, 2021 and Masek against Great Lake Christian on March 11, 2022. 

• DOUBLING UP: Carroll amassed a team-high seven double-doubles last season, followed by Royston with two, and Van Dam, Masek, and Micah Ladd with one each.

• RAINING IN 3s: As a team, the Polars knocked down 245 3-pointers a year ago, and boasted a pair of players — Van Dam (57) and Carroll (50) — who drained 50 or more treys. … Micah Ladd poured in a season-best six 3-pointers against Northwestern on Dec. 10, 2021, a total matched by Van Dam against UM-Morris on Jan. 29, 2022.

• LENDING A HAND: Ladd was in a giving mood all season a year ago, dishing out a team-high 155 assists — more than 80 in front of Testerman, who was second on the team with 73 helpers. … Ladd collected a single-game, season-high 10 assists three times last season — including in back-to-back games against Northwestern and North Central on Dec. 10-11, 2021.

• AS A TEAM: Crown shot 43.1 percent (869-for-2015) from the field a year ago, including a 245-for-805 (30.4 %) showing from behind the arc. The Polars hit on 71.6 percent of their free throws (386-for-539) and averaged 76.4 ppg. … Crown scored 80 or more points in 13 of its 27 games a year ago — including a season-high 104 points in beating Great Lakes Christian College 104-84 in the NCCAA national tournament semifinals.