SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2022-23: 6-4 MIAC, 10-5 Overall

MACALESTER SCOTS

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2022-23: 6-4 MIAC, 9-5 Overall

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SMU-MAC * EARLIER THIS YEAR:

L, 77-76 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 16, 2023 * Minneapolis, MN

Augsburg * W, 91-57

MACALESTER * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 16, 2023 * St. Paul, MN

Concordia * W, 60-56

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Jan. 21, 2023 * Winona, MN

Concordia * 1:00

MACALESTER * UP NEXT:

Jan. 21, 2023 * St. Bonifacius, MN

Bethel * 1:00

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference showdown at Macalester on Wednesday sitting at 10-5 overall, including a 6-4 showing after 10 conference games.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals put four players in double figures, including three with 20 or more points — Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill. / 22), Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill. / 21), and Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis. / 21) — as Saint Mary’s routed Augsburg 91-57 Wednesday in Minneapolis, Minn. 

• ON A ROLL: With their rout of Augsburg on Wednesday, the Cardinals extended their winning streak to a program-record eight straight. In a span of 33 days, the Cardinals have recorded wins over then-No. 7 UW-La Crosse, followed by back-to-back nonconference victories over North Park and Finlandia, and six consecutive conference triumphs — including a 69-57 win over Saint John’s on Jan. 7 that snapped a 29-game losing streak against the Johnnies.

• ROAD TRIP: After four straight home games, Wednesday’s matchup at Macalester is the third consecutive road contest for the Cardinals. … SMU boasts 5-2 record on its home court this season, while going 5-3 in eight road contests. 

• CLOSE CALLS: Eight of the Cardinals’ 15 games this season have been decided by 10 points or less — including six of nine MIAC contests. SMU has dropped nail-biting decisions to Concordia (82-77), Gustavus (74-71), Macalester (77-76), and St. Olaf (75-69), while beating No. 7 UW-La Crosse (73-66), North Park (83-82), Hamline (81-72), and St. Scholastica (58-57). 

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Sawyer (22), Anthony (21), and Ziegler (21) accounted for 64 of the Cardinals’ 91 points in Wednesday’s win over Augsburg. The trio combined for more points than the entire Augsburg lineup.

• DOUBLE-DIGIT AVERAGES: Anthony, who has scored in double figures in all 15 contests this season — and 52 times in his four-year collegiate career — is averaging a team- and conference-leading 23.4 ppg, while Ziegler and Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) are also averaging in double figures at 14.1 ppg and 13.9 ppg, respectively.

• GREATER THAN 20: Saint Mary’s has had a player score 20 or more points in 11 of its 15 games this season — including seven of their last nine contests. … Anthony’s 32-point showing against Saint John’s on Jan. 7 marked the third time this season the senior has scored 30 or more points, while his 21-point showing against Augsburg on Monday was the 21st time in his four-year career that he has netted 20+ points.

• GREATER THAN 20 x 3: The Cardinals boasted three players with 20 or more points in the same game for the first time in program history against Augsburg Wednesday, getting 22 points from Sawyer, and 21 each from Anthony and Ziegler. … SMU has now had two or more players score 20+ points in the same game five times this season.

• GREATER THAN 30 x 4: Saint Mary’s has had a player score 30 or more points in a game four times this season. Anthony has posted a 30-point game against Crown on Nov. 8, a 32-point showing against Saint John’s last Saturday, and a 41-point barrage vs. North Park on Dec. 30, while Ziegler delivered 30 points against Carleton on Dec. 3.

• CAREER NIGHTS: Saint Mary’s has had five players recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Anthony (41), Ziegler (30), Mason Klett (Apple Valley, Minn. / 27), Buysman (25), and Sawyer (22), while Bruce Lockwood (Shakopee, Minn.) equaled his career-high with 10 points against Hamline on Jan. 4. 

• AMONG THE PROGRAM’S BEST: Anthony’s 41-point showing against North Park on Dec. 30 — which included 26 points in the second half — was the highest single-game individual performance since Will Wright netted 41 against MacMurray on Nov. 22, 2008. … Anthony’s 41 points were the third-most in program history and just five shy of the school-record 46 posted by Ken Jansen against Macalester during the 1956-57 season.

• JOINING THE CLUB: With his field goal at 5:48 of the second half against Finlandia on Jan. 2, Anthony became the 28th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Anthony — who is SMU’s first 1,000-point scorer since Eli Cave ’21 hit the milestone during the 2020-21 season — currently sits tie for 20th all-time with 1,119 career points. Next up: Jerry Sauser ’67 (1,136).

• HITTING DOUBLE DIGITS: Saint Mary’s has put at least three players in double figures in 13 of its first 15 games – including four double-figure scorers in the same game seven times.

• ON THE GLASS: Anthony leads the team in rebounds with 142 (9.5 rpg), while Sawyer and Lockwood are tied for second with 54 (3.6 rpg). Buysman (49, 3.2 rpg), Ziegler (44, 2.9 rpg), and Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill. / 43, 2.9 rpg) have also hauled in more than 40 boards this season. … Anthony’s 15 rebounds against Hamline on Jan. 4 matched his career-high and were just one shy of the program record of 16, set by Will Swiggum against Martin Luther on Nov. 24, 2015.

• DOUBLING UP: Along with his 24 points against Bethel last Wednesday, Anthony also delivered 10 rebounds for his eighth of the season — including double-doubles in three of SMU’s last five games. … Anthony now owns 18 double-doubles in his four-year collegiate career. … Anthony collected his first points/assist double-double against Gustavus on Nov. 19, scoring 19 points and adding a career-high 10 assists. … Anthony was just two rebounds short of his first collegiate triple-double vs. the Gusties on Nov. 19, and three assists short of a triple-double vs. Hamline on Jan. 4.

• GOING DEEP: Saint Mary’s equaled the program’s single-game record with 14 3-pointers against Finlandia on Jan. 2. It marked the second time this season the Cardinals have hit 14 3s in a game, having first achieved the feat against Carleton on Dec. 3. … Ziegler netted a single-game program record eight 3-pointers for the second straight game against Carleton on Dec. 3, going 8-for-14 from beyond the arc. The junior was 8-for-13 in first setting the school record against St. Olaf on Nov. 30. … Ziegler leads the way for SMU with 55 treys, followed by Buysman with 34. 

• AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS: The Cardinals — who have knocked down 139 3-pointers in 15 games — rank No. 1 in NCAA Division III in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 43.3 percent (139-for-321) from behind the arc. … Ziegler is currently sitting second in the country in 3-point FG percentage (52.4 %) and fifth in 3-pointers made per game (3.67). 

• LENDING A HAND: Along with leading the team in scoring and rebounding, Anthony also boasts a team-best 75 assists, followed by Sawyer with 46. … The Cardinals recorded a season-high 19 assists against Gustavus on Nov. 19 — including a career-high 10 from Anthony. The 10 assists by Anthony were the most by a Cardinal since Evan Pederson put together an 11-assist showing against Macalester on Feb. 14, 2014. … SMU’s 19-assist effort against the Gusties were the most in a game since the Cardinals dished out 20 helpers against Augsburg on Feb. 2, 2021

• WEEKLY HONORS: Saint Mary’s has had two players named MIAC Offensive Player of the Week — Buysman on Dec. 19, 2022 and Anthony on Jan. 9, 2023. It was the fourth career MIAC Player of the Week honor for Anthony, who was also named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week on both Jan. 3 and Jan. 10.

• NATIONAL RECOGNITION: Small College Basketball and the National Awards Committee announced the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List for the 2022-23 season on Jan. 15 — which included the Cardinals’ Anthon. The Top 100 Watch List consists of some of the top players from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA.

• HITTING 100: The Cardinals’ 102 points in their 102-68 win over Finlandia on Jan. 2 were the most since they beat Luther 103-97 in overtime on Nov. 30, 2019. … Saint Mary’s has now had a team score 100 or more points 10 times in program history — including a program-record 110 in a 110-99 win over UM-Duluth on Jan. 26, 1956.

• BIG HALF: The Cardinals erupted for 55 first-half points against Finlandia on Jan. 2, the highest single-half performance in more than 30 years. … SMU has scored 40 or more points in a half in 11 of its 15 games — including 40+ in both halves against Carleton (Dec. 3), Finlandia (Jan. 2), Hamline (Jan. 4), and Augsburg (Jan. 16).

• A WIN FOR THE AGES: The Cardinals’ 69-57 win over Saint John’s last Saturday — which included overcoming a 21-0 half-ending SJU run and rallying from a nine-point halftime deficit — snapped their 29-game losing streak against the Johnnies, dating back to a 63-60 SMU win on Jan. 22, 2007.

• A WIN FOR THE AGES II: SMU’s six-point win over No. 7 UW-La Crosse on Dec. 14 marked the first time in program history the Cardinals had beaten a team ranked in the Top 10 in the country. … The win also snapped a six-game losing streak against the Eagles — dating back to a 65-50 triumph on Nov. 24, 1986.

• SEASON-BESTS: SMU shot a season-high 54.7 percent from the field in Monday’s win over Augsburg — it was the highest single-game shooting percentage since going 28-for-56 (60.9 %) against North Park on Dec. 29, 2018. … Saint Mary’s recorded season-highs in numerous statistical categories against Finlandia on Jan. 2, including points (102), field goals made (41), field goals attempted (82), 3-pointers made (14), 3-pointers attempted (36), rebounds (52), assists (23), and blocked shots (6). … 

• BY THE NUMBERS: The Cardinals are shooting 47.5 percent from the field (440-for-926), with 139 3-pointers, and are 147-for-199 (73.9 %) from the free throw line. … Saint Mary’s is averaging 77.7 ppg, while the Cardinals’ opponents are scoring at a 69.9 ppg clip. … Saint Mary’s has scored 80 or more points in a game six times this season, including a season-high 102 against Finlandia on Jan. 2.

MACALESTER SCOTS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Scots head into Wednesday’s rematch against Saint Mary’s sitting at 9-5 overall, including 6-4 in conference play through 10 games.

• LAST TIME OUT: Macalester snapped a two-game losing streak on Wednesday, getting a team-high 21 points from Coby Gold and holding off Concordia down the stretch in earning a four-point, 60-56 win over Concordia at Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: With their win over Concordia on Monday, the Scots — who are in the midst of playing four consecutive games on their home court at Leonard Center — improved to 6-1 on their home floor. Macalester is just 3-4 on the road, with one of those wins a one-point, 77-76 victory over Saint Mary’s in their first meeting on Nov. 22 in Winona.

• NAILBITERS: Since their first meeting with SMU on Nov. 22, three of Macalester’s last five wins have been by five points or less — the lone exceptions, an 88-65 win over Bethel on Dec. 10 and a 69-55 triumph against St. Scholastica on Jan. 7. The Scots own a one-point win over Saint Mary’s (77-76), a five-point victory against Gustavus (75-70), and a four-point win over Concordia (60-56).

• LEADING THE CHARGE: The Scots head into their mid-week clash against Saint Mary’s boasting two players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Caleb Williams (17.7 ppg) and Gold (13.9 ppg), while Badou Ba and Eric Wentz are close behind at 9.6 ppg and 8.6 ppg, respectively. … Macalester has had a player net 20 or more points in a game five times, including a season-high 32-point effort by Williams against Wartburg on Nov. 11.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Ba leads the Scots in rebounds with 108 (7.7 rpg), while Williams (74, 5.3 rpg), Noah Shannon (62, 4.4 rpg), and Gold (59, 4.2 rpg) have also collected 50 or more boards this season. … Ba hauled in a single-game, season-high 15 rebounds against Crown on Nov. 30.

• DOUBLING UP: Ba all three of the Scots’ double-doubles this season — a 14-point, 13-rebound effort against Augsburg on Nov. 19, 13-point, 15-board effort against Crown on Nov. 30, and a 13-point, 11-rebound performance vs. St. Scholastica on Jan. 7. 

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Macalester has knocked down 129 3-pointers in 14 games, shooting 33.9 percent (129-for-380) from 3-point land. … Gold has delivered a team-leading 36 treys, just five more than Williams, while Wentz (15), Tom Andreae (11), and Marcus Crawford (11) have also hit more than 10 3s this season. … The Scots have gotten at least one 3-pointer from 13 of the 15 players who have seen playing time.

• LENDING A HAND: The Scots boast six players who have reached double-digits in assists — including four with 20 or more helpers through 14 games. Gold leads the way with 40 assists, followed by Williams with 35, Ba with 31, and Wentz with 21.

• BY THE NUMBERS: Macalester is shooting 42.6 percent from the field (366-for-860), with 129 3-pointers, and boasts a 110-for-173 (63.6 %) showing from the free throw line. … The Scots are averaging 69.4 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 67.1 ppg clip. … Macalester has scored 80 or more points twice this season – netting 88 in beating Bethel 88-65 on Dec. 10, while pouring in a season-high 91 in a season-opening 91-53 win over Martin Luther on Nov. 8. On the flip side, St. Olaf is the only team to eclipse 80 points against the Scots this season, beating Macalester 83-59 on Jan. 4.