SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(5-9 MIAC, 7-11 OVERALL)

Team Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

BETHEL ROYALS

(5-7 MAC, 8-9 OVERALL)

Team Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

Live Stats | Streaming Video

EARLIER THIS YEAR:

Dec. 11, 2021

L, 70-58 * Series History

SAINT MARY'S LAST ACTION:

Feb. 2, 2022 * Gustavus * L, 73-70

BETHEL LAST ACTION: 

Feb. 2, 2022 * St. John’s * L, 72-51

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Feb. 7, 2022 * St. Olaf

Winona, MN * 7:00

GUSTAVUS UP NEXT: 

Feb. 7, 2022 * Concordia

Moorhead, MN * 7:00

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference matchup against Bethel sitting at 7-11 overall, while boasting a 5-9 record in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) scored 23 points and Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn.) added 21, but it was not enough, as the Cardinals dropped a three-point, 73-70 decision to Gustavus Wednesday in St. Peter, Minn.

• BACK HOME: Saturday’s game against Bethel is the second of back-to-back road games for the Cardinals, who will follow Saturday’s game by playing three of their final four regular-season contests on their home court. SMU is 4-5 on the road this season, while winning three of its eight home contests.

• CLOSE CALLS: Ten of Saint Mary’s 18 games this season have been decided by 11 points or less, including three of its last four games — a 76-72 loss at Macalester, a 69-58 win over Hamline, and a 73-70 setback at Gustavus

• STREAKING: The Cardinals — who had beaten Hamline (69-58) and St. Scholastica (77-58) in its previous two games — had their two-game winning streak snapped with Wednesday’s 73-70 loss to Gustavus. SMU’s 11-point win over Hamline on Jan. 26 snapped its season-high five-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.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Anthony — who has scored 10 or more points 12 times this season, including six games with 20 or more points — enters SMU’s matchup with Bethel averaging 17.3 ppg, followed by Frechette (10.1 ppg), Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 8.3 ppg), Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis. / 6.9 ppg), and Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / 6.3 ppg). … Anthony has led the team in scoring in nine of its last 15 games.

• GREATER THAN 20: Anthony has poured in 20 or more points in a game six times, the most recent a 23-point showing against Gustavus last Wednesday. … Anthony has now scored 20 or more points 11 times in his career. … Frechette is the only other Cardinals to eclipse the 20-point mark this season — having done it in each of SMU’s last two games. The sophomore tallied a career-high 24 points against St. Scholastica last Saturday and added a 21-point effort against Gustavus on Wednesday.

• TWENTY x 2: With their 23- and 21-point effort against Gustavus last Wednesday, Anthony and Frechette became the first Cardinal duo to score 20 points in the same game this season. … Saint Mary’s had two 20-point scorers in a game twice in their eight games a year ago.

• CAREER NIGHT x 2: Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) and Buysman each recorded single-game career-high performances against Hamline on Jan. 26, 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 has had nine players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Anthony (35 v. St. Scholastica), Frechette (24 v. St. Scholastica), Freetly (23 v. Macalester), 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 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 fourth double-double of the season against Gustavus last Wednesday, scoring 23 points and adding 12 rebounds. Anthony — who now owns nine double-doubles as a Cardinal — missed his first collegiate triple-double by one assist against UW-Superior on Dec. 28. … Freetly recorded his first double-double of the season — and third of his collegiate career — against Crown on Jan. 3, scoring 11 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 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.

• DOUBLE DIGITS x 5: The Cardinals put a season-high five players in double figures against Concordia last Saturday. 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, 202 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 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 17.3 ppg scoring average, Anthony also leads the team in rebounds with 144 (9. rpg), while Freetly is second with 74 (4.4 rpg). … Saint Mary’s recorded a season-high 54 rebounds against Crown on Jan. 3.

• 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 139 3-pointers through 19 games, led by Ziegler with 31, followed by Frechette with 25 and Freetly with 21. … Ziegler has posted two games with five 3-pointers this season, having also achieved the feat against Hamline on Nov. 23. … SMU boasts 11 players who have recorded at least one 3-pointer this season. … The Cardinals — who have recorded 10 or more treys in a game four times this season — attempted a season-high 34 3-pointers against Hamline on Nov. 23.

• LENDING A HAND: Saint Mary’s has dished out 226 assists, including a season-high 17 against Mary Hardin-Baylor on Dec. 30. Anthony leads the team with 70 helpers, while eight other Cardinals own at least 10 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 Wednesday. 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 marks 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, 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 are shooting 40.8 percent from the field (454-for-1113), with 139 3-pointers, and are 146-for-237 (61.6 percent) from the free throw line. Saint Mary’s is averaging 68.2 ppg, with their opponents scoring at a 69.7 ppg clip. … The Cardinals scored a season-high 83 points in their 83-78 win over UW-Superior on Dec. 28. Saint Mary’s posted season-highs in field goals (30) and field goals attempted (74) against Gustavus on Jan. 5.

• 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.

• INDIVIDUAL HONORS: Anthony was named to the D3hoop.com Classic All-Tournament Team on Dec. 31 and the D3hoops.com Team of the Week on Dec. 4. It was his second and third individual honors 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.

• FOR THE RECORD: The Royals enter their home contest against Saint Mary’s sitting at 8-9 overall, including a 5-7 showing through 12 games of their conference slate.

• LAST TIME OUT: Saint John’s erupted for 43 second-half points — while holding the Royals to just 25 — as the Johnnies cruised to a 72-51 win over BU Wednesday in Collegeville, Minn.

• IN A SLUMP: Last Wednesday’s 21-point loss to Saint John’s pushed the Royals’ losing streak to three straight. The Royals come into Saturday’s game vs. Saint Mary’s having dropped six of their last seven — sandwiching a 75-63 win over Hamline on Jan. 19 between a pair of three-game losing streak.

• HOME COOKING: The Royals play three of their next four games on their home court, beginning Saturday against Saint Mary’s. The lone road trip during that span, a Monday matchup at Concordia. BU has collected five of its eight wins this season on their home court, where they boast a 5-2 record. The Royals are 3-7 away from Robertson Center Gym.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Bethel heads into Saturday’s matchup against Saint Mary’s boasting three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Zach Doely (15.2 ppg), Jaren Tschetter (13.1 ppg), and Tommy Jensen (12.1 ppg). … Doely has scored 10 or more points in 14 of the team’s 17 games — including three games of 20 or more points. … Doely posted the team’s top single-game scoring performance, netting 28 points against UW-Platteville on Nov. 27.

• HITTING THE BOARDS: Along with his team-leading scoring average, Doely also leads the team in rebounds with 131 (7.7 rpg), followed by Tschetter (80, 5.7 rpg) and Myles Coleman (61, 3.8 rpg). … Doely has hauled in a season-high 12 rebounds twice and has amassed six double-doubles this season.

• LENDING A HAND: Sam Nelson is the team’s assist leader with 39. He is one of five Royals with 20 or more helpers through 17 games, being joined by Tommy Jensen (29), Doely (27), Isaiah Rollins (25), and Joey Kidder (23).

• BLOCK PARTY: Doely has accounted for 22 of the Royals’ 42 blocks, while Coleman is second with five and Tschetter owns four.

• AS A TEAM: Bethel is shooting 46.1 percent from the field (439-for-953) with 124 3-pointers and are 168-for-222 (75.7 percent) from the free throw line. … BU is averaging 68.8 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 68.3 ppg clip. … Bethel scored a season-high 83 points in beating Concordia 83-60 on Dec. 8.