ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The last time the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team squared off against Bethel, the Royals broke open a four-point game by outscoring the Cardinals 45-29 in the second half of a 70-58 BU victory.
 
Saturday afternoon, the Cardinals and Royals were once again embroiled in a four-point nailbiter after the game's opening 20 minutes — only this time around, it was Saint Mary's nursing the precarious four-point halftime lead.
 
And over the game's final 20 minutes, the Cardinals stole a page from the Royals' playbook — erupting for 47 second-half points en route to a commanding 77-64 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at Robertson Center Gym.
 
The Cardinals came out firing to open the first half, getting a 3-pointer from Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) and a field goal from Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn.) to open a 5-0 lead. Bethel would answer by scoring 12 of the next 14 points to grab a five-point, 12-7 advantage with 13:47 on the clock.
 
Cameron Mallory would hoist the Cardinals on his shoulder and carry them to a 16-14 lead — scoring SMU's next seven points as part of a 14-0 Saint Mary's run that gave SMU a nine-point, 23-14 cushion with 7:09 to play. BU promptly answered by rattling off 12 of the next 15 points to pull even, 26-26. The Cardinals would score the final four points of the half, on field goals by Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) and Frechette, to take a four-point, 30-26 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
The Cardinals never trailed in the second half, although Bethel did pull even, 39-39 — thanks to a 13-9 burst to open the half. By the time the time Zach Doely converted a layup with 10:25 remaining, however, the Cardinals had rattled off 13 unanswered points to build a 52-39 cushion.
 
Saint Mary's would continue to pad that lead to as many as 21, 67-46, with 6:25 to play in regulation, before settling for the 13-point victory.
 
Anthony finished with a team-leading 22 points, while Frechette chipped in 20 — marking the second straight game in which the Cardinal duo have both score 20 or more points. Anthony tallied 23 points and Frechette added 21 in last Wednesday's three-point, 73-70 loss to Gustavus.
 
As a team, the Cardinals shot 45.5 percent from the field, going 30-for-66 with nine 3-pointers, while adding an 8 of 15 showing from the free throw line. The 30 made field goals equaled a season-high for the Cardinals.
 
The Cardinals (6-9 MIAC, 8-11 overall) are right back in action on Monday, returning home to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. conference matchup against St. Olaf.
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