SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2022-23: 4-5 Overall

FINLANDIA LIONS

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2022-23: 2-10 Overall

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SMU-FIN * LAST MEETING:

First-Ever Meeting

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Dec. 30, 2022 * Chicago, IL

North Park * W, 83-82

FINLANDIA * LAST ACTION:

Dec. 22, 2022 * Olivet, MI

Olivet * L, 106-57

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Jan. 4, 2023 * Winona, MN

Hamline * 7:00

FINLANDIA * UP NEXT: 

Jan. 3, 2023 * Mankato, MN

Bethany Lutheran * 6:00

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their nonconference showdown against Finlandia sitting at 4-5 overall, including a 2-4 showing after five conference games.

• LAST TIME OUT:  Saint Mary’s got 41 points from Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) — including the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining in regulation — as the Cardinals rallied to beat North Park 83-82 last Friday in Chicago, Ill.

• HOME (OR ROAD) SWEET HOME: With their 83-82 win over North Park last Friday, the Cardinals have now posted eight of their last 12 wins on the road. SMU is 1-2 on its home court this season, while going 3-3 in five road contests. … After three consecutive road games, Monday’s matchup against Finlandia is the first of four straight home games for the Cardinals.

• CLOSE CALLS: The Cardinals’ one-point, 83-82 win over North Park last Saturday was their sixth game this season decided by 10 points or less — including four of five MIAC contests. SMU has dropped nail-biting decisions to Concordia (82-77), Gustavus (74-71), Macalester by one (77-76) and St. Olaf (75-69), while beating North Park and No. 7 UW-La Crosse (73-66).

• LEADING THE CHARGE: With his game-high 41 points against North Park last Friday, Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) has now led the Cardinals in scoring in six of their first nine games. … Anthony, who has scored in double figures in all nine contests this season, and 46 times in his four-year collegiate career, is averaging a team-leading 23.6 ppg through nine games, and is shooting 55.2 percent from the field (80-for-145).

• PLENTY OF OFFENSIVE WEAPONS: Along with Anthony, Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) and Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) are also averaging in double figures, sitting at 15.2 ppg and 14.1 ppg, respectively.

• AMONG THE PROGRAM’S BEST: Anthony’s 41-point showing against North Park last Friday — which including 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.

• GREATER THAN 20: Saint Mary’s has had a player score 20 or more points in seven of its nine games this season — including each of their last three contests. … Anthony’s 41-point effort against North Park last Friday marked the 17th time the senior has scored 20 or more points in a game.

• GREATER THAN 20 x 2: With the 30-point showing by Ziegler and 25-point effort by Anthony against Carleton on Dec. 3, the Cardinals have had two players score 20 or more points in the same game twice this season and four times in the last two seasons — with Anthony having a hand in all four.

• GREATER THAN 30 x 2: With Ziegler’s 30-point showing against Carleton on Dec. 3, Saint Mary’s has had a player score 30 points in a game twice this season. Anthony netted 30 against Crown on Nov. 8.

• CAREER NIGHTS: Anthony’s career-high 41-point night against North Park marked the third time this season SMU has had a player recorded a single-game career-high of more than 10 points. After scoring a then-career high 26 points against St. Olaf on Nov. 30, Ziegler improved that mark by four against Carleton on Dec. 3, netting 30 points against the Knights, while Buysman poured in a career-best 23 points in SMU’s win over No. 7 UW-La Crosse on Dec. 14. …  Anthony dished out a career-high 10 assists against Gustavus on Nov. 19.

• HITTING DOUBLE DIGITS: Saint Mary’s has put at least three players in double figures in eight of its first nine games – including four double-figure scorers three times.

• DOUBLING UP: Along with his 41 points, Anthony also hauled in 14 rebounds — one shy of his career high — against North Park last Friday for his fifth double-double of the season. … Anthony now owns 14 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 THE GLASS: Anthony leads the team in rebounds with 82 (9.1 rpg), while Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) is second with 38 (4.1 rpg) — with 32 of his 38 boards coming on the defensive end. … SMU has amassed 286 rebounds in nine games (31.8 rpg) — including 218 defensive boards.

• GOING DEEP: Saint Mary’s equaled the program’s single-game record with 14 3-pointers against Carleton on Dec. 3, and followed that up with 13 3-pointers against Concordia on Dec. 10. … Ziegler netted a single-game program record eight 3-pointers for the second straight game against Carleton, 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 36 treys, followed by Buysman with 21. …  The Cardinals have knocked down 83 3-pointers this season and are shooting 44.4 percent from beyond the arc (83-for-187).

• LENDING A HAND: 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. … Anthony leads SMU with 49 assists, followed by Sawyer with 25. … 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

• BIG HALF: The Cardinals have scored 40 or more points in a half in six of their nine games — including 40+ in both halves against Carleton on Dec. 3. … SMU has netted 40 or more points in a half 12 times over the last two seasons — with 10 of those 40+ efforts coming in the second half.

• A WIN FOR THE AGES: 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.

• BY THE NUMBERS: The Cardinals are shooting 47.3 percent from the field (259-for-547), with 83 3-pointers, and are 87-for-121 (71.9 %) from the free throw line. … SMU went 5-for-5 from the free throw line against Carleton on Dec. 3 — and did not attempt a first-half free throw. … Saint Mary’s has scored 80 or more points in a game three times this season, including a 85 points against Carleton. … SMU’s 85 points against Carleton on Dec. 3 were the most since SMU netted 87 against Hamline on Jan. 11, 2020.

FINLANDIA LIONS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Lions head into Monday’s nonconference matchup against Saint Mary’s sitting at 2-10 overall.

• LAST TIME OUT: Danny Zuchak scored 22 points and John Schultz chipped in 12, but the Lions were no match for Olivet, as Finlandia fell to the Comets 106-57 at Cutler Center in Hancock, Mich., on Dec. 22.

• ROAD WARRIORS: Finlandia’s game at Saint Mary’s is the fourth straight road contest for the Lions, who are in the midst of playing six consecutive road contests. FU is 1-4 on its home court, while sporting a 1-5 record away from Paavo Nurmi Center in Olivet, Mich.

• HITTING THE CENTURY MARK: With its 106 points, Olivet became the Lions’ fourth straight opponent to reach 100 points. FU— which has lost seven in a row — surrendered 100+ points to Northwestern (L, 117-72), Northern Michigan (L, 125-50), and Kalamazoo (L, 108-59) prior to its 106-58 setback against Olivet.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Finlandia heads into its nonconference game against Saint Mary’s boasting two players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Ilrick Higgins-Moise (12.8 ppg) and Zuchak (12.4 ppg). … Higgins-Moise has finished in double figures in eight of the nine games he’s played, and posted the team’s single-game season-high with 25 points against Beloit on Nov. 11.  Zuchak, meanwhile, has scored in double figures in six of the Lions’ 10 games, including reaching the 20-point barrier twice — netting 22 against Olivet on Dec. 22, and tallying a season-high 23 vs. Martin Luther on Nov. 19.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Higgins-Moise leads the Lions with 58 rebounds (6.4 rpg), followed by Jamhad Hines (38, 5.4 rpg) and Devin Schieble (37, 4.1 rpg). … Higgins-Moise recorded the team’s lone double-double with an 11-point, 11-rebound showing against Lakeland on Nov. 15.

• FROM DOWNTOWN: Finlandia has poured in 93 3-pointers in 12 games and boasts three players who have netted 10 or more treys this season. Schieble leads the way for FU with 16 3s, followed by Manuel Mata with 13 and Schultz with 11.

• LENDING A HAND: Noah Prestia has dished out a team-leading 37 assists in 10 games, while Higgins-Moise (15), Zuchak (14), and Logan Depew (11) have also delivered 10 or more helpers through 12 games.

• BY THE NUMBERS: The Lions are shooting 36.2 percent from the field (293-for-810) with 93 3-pointers, while hitting 156 of 235 free throws (66.4 %). … As a team, FU is averaging 69.6 ppg, while the Lions’ opponents are scoring at a 96.0 ppg clip. … Finlandia has been outscored 1152-835 — 597-411 in the first half and 555-424 in the second. … FU has scored 70 or more points six times, including 84 points in an 85-76 win over Beloit on Nov. 11 and a season-high 94 points in a three-point, 94-91 win over Martin Luther on Nov. 19.