SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 0-3 MIAC, 1-6 Overall

CONCORDIA COBBERS

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2023-24: 2-0 MIAC, 6-0 Overall

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SMU-CONCORDIA * A YEAR AGO:

L, 82-77 * W, 85-81 * Series History 

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Dec. 2, 2023 * Northfield, MN

St. Olaf * L, 94-84 (ot)

CONCORDIA * LAST ACTION:

Dec. 2, 2023 * Arden Hills, MN

Bethel * W, 57-52

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Dec. 6, 2023 * Duluth, MN

St. Scholastica * 7 p.m.

CONCORDIA * UP NEXT: 

Dec. 6, 2023 * Moorhead, MN

Saint John’s * 7:45 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into Monday’s home conference showdown against Concordia sitting at 1-6 overall, while sitting at 0-3 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Saint Mary’s got 20+ points from both Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill.) and Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) — and rallied from nine points down with less than 10 minutes to play to force overtime — but we3re outscored 16-6 in the extra session in falling to St. Olaf 94-84 in Northfield, Minn., last Saturday.

• ROAD WARRIORS: The Cardinals are in the midst of playing four of five games on the road — the lone exception, Monday’s matchup against Concordia. Following Monday’s SMU-CC contest, the Cardinals will play at St. Scholastica on Wednesday and at Bethel on Saturday, before closing out the 2023 portion of their schedule with a Dec. 13 home game against UW-La Crosse. … Saint Mary’s is currently 1-2 on its home court, while sporting an 0-4 record away from the Saint Mary’s Gym..

• FACING THE NATION’S BEST: Saint Mary’s has already faced two teams that received recognition in the D3hoops.com Preseason Poll. UW-Platteville received votes in the opening poll, while UW-Whitewater — an NCAA Division III Final Four participant last season — was ranked No. 2. … SMU’s six-point win over then-No. 7 UW-La Crosse a year ago 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.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Buysman heads into Monday’s matchup vs. Concordia boasting a team-leading 16.3 ppg scoring average. Buysman is one of three Cardinals averaging in double figures in scoring this season, being joined by Mallory at 16.1 ppg and Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) at 11.0 ppg. … Mallory has led or shared the team lead in scoring in five of SMU’s first seven games.

• HITTING DOUBLE FIGURES: Buysman has scored in double figures in six of SMU’s seven games — including a season-high 24-point effort against Hamline on Nov. 21. … Mallory has also scored in double figures in six of SMU’s first seven contests. He netted a then-career-high 20 points against UW-Platteville on Nov. 10, before bettering that by three with a 23-point showing against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18.

• GREATER THAN 20: Saint Mary’s has had two players score 20 or more points in a game. Mallory has accomplished the feat three times, while Buysman has netted 20+ twice.

• GREATER THAN 20 x 2: With Mallory’s 21 points and Buysman’s 20 against St. Olaf last Saturday, the Cardinals recorded their first game with two players reaching the 20-point mark in the same game. … SMU had two 20+ scorers in the same game six times last season — including a program record three players with 20 or more points in the same game against Augsburg on Jan. 16, 2023.

• CAREER SCORING NIGHTS: Saint Mary’s has had a player post a career high of 10 or more points three times this season. Mallory’s 23-point showing against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18 was a career high, while Bruce Lockwood’s (Shakopee, Minn.) tallied a career-best 11 points against Hamline on Nov. 21 and Jemari Moore (Broadview, Ill.) delivered a career-high 10 points against Saint John’s last Wednesday. … Saint Mary’s boasted six players who recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points last season.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: Saint Mary’s put five players in double figures against Saint John’s last Wednesday — Mallory (13 points), Sawyer (11), Lockwood (11), Buysman (10), and Jemari Moore (Broadview, Ill.). It was the first time SMU has put five players in double figures in the same game since Jan. 15, 2022. … SMU has now put at least three players in double figures in five of their first six games.

• ON THE GLASS: Saint Mary’s boasts four players with 20 or more rebounds through seven games, led by Lockwood with 35 (5.0 rpg). Buysman owns 33 boards (4.7 rpg), followed by Sawyer (31, 4.4 rpg) and Mallory (28, 4.0 rpg). … Mallory, Lockwood, and Buysman have all posted season-high eight-rebound performances this season. … Lockwood finished second on the team with 115 rebounds (4.6 rpg) a year ago, and posted a career-high 11 rebounds against St. Scholastica on Feb. 4, 2023.

• GOING DEEP: Saint Mary’s, which knocked down 242 3-pointers and led the nation in 3-point FG percentage (46.2 %), has made 43 of 136 3-point attempts this season (31.6 %) — including a season-high 12 treys against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18. … Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) leads the team with 11 treys, followed by Buysman with nine, Khai Branham (Bemidji, Minn.) with seven, and Sawyer with six. … SMU’s season-high 12 3-pointers against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18 were just two treys shy of the program’s single-game record of 14, set against Finlandia a year ago.

• LENDING A HAND: Ziegler and Sawyer have accounted for 56 of the team’s 92 assists through seven games, with Ziegler dishing out 29 helpers, and Sawyer adding 27. Buysman is third with 10 assists, one more than Mallory. … The Cardinals recorded a season-high 19 assists in their first meeting against Gustavus last season. SMU’s 19-assist effort was the most in a game since the Cardinals dished out 20 helpers against Augsburg on Feb. 2, 2021.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: The Cardinals are shooting 46.5 percent from the field (191-for-411), with 43 3-pointers, and are 62 of 89 (69.7 %) from the free throw line. … SMU is averaging 69.8 ppg, with its opponents scoring at an 83.0 ppg clip. … Saint Mary’s has scored 70 or more points in four of its first seven games — including a season-high 84 against St. Olaf last Saturday. SMU scored 80 or more points in a game 10 times last season, including a season-high 102 against Finlandia on Jan. 2.

CONCORDIA SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cobbers head into their Monday showdown at Saint Mary’s unbeaten in their first six games, including a perfect 2-0 mark in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Concordia outscored Bethel 29-18 in the first half, and held off a furious Royals’ second-half comeback in dealing BU a 57-52 home loss last Saturday in Arden Hills, Minn.

• ROAD WARRIORS: Monday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the fourth straight road game for the Cobbers, who are playing five of their first six games away from Memorial Auditorium — the only home contest, an 80-53, season-opening win over UMN Morris on Nov. 8.

• STREAKING: With their five-point, 57-52 win over Bethel, Concordia extended its season-opening winning streak to six — the second longest win streak in program history. … The Cobbers’ win over BU last Saturday also snapped a 13-game losing streak against the Royals

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Concordia boasts four players who are averaging in double figures, led by Matthew Johnson, who owns an 18.0 ppg scoring average. Rowan Nelson (11.8 ppg), Jackson Loge (10.8 ppg), and Jacob Cooks (10.0 ppg) also own scoring averaging of 10 or more points. … Johnson has led the team in scoring in each of the Cobbers’ last four games, including a season-high 27-point showing against UW-Stout on Nov. 18.

• FREE POINTS: Johnson has had three games in which he has been perfect from the free throw line, going 6-for-6 against both UW-La Crosse on Nov. 11 and vs. Macalester on Nov. 21, while net all eight from the charity stripe against Bethel last Saturday.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Loge has hauled in a team-leading 41 rebounds through six games, averaging 6.8 rpg. Loge is one of four Cobbers with 20+ rebounds, being joined by Cook (38, 6.3 rpg), Nelson (28, 4.7 rpg), and Noah Christensen (22, 4.4 rpg). … CC has had a player post 10 or more rebounds in a game three times. Cook has achieved the feat twice — 10 rebounds against UMN Morris on Nov. 8 and 11 vs. Macalester on Nov. 21, while Loge added an 11-rebound showing against the Scots on Nov. 21.

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Concordia has poured in 45 3-pointers this season, going 45-for-130 (34.6 %) and has gotten at least one trey from seven different players. … Johnson leads the CC long-range bombers with 17 treys, going 17-for-34 (50.0 %). Nelson is second on the squad with eight 3-pointers, followed by Zack Jackson with eight. … Johnson drained a season-high five 3-pointers against UW-Stout on Nov. 18.

• LENDING A HAND: Johnson has dished out a team-leading 20 assists, followed by Nelson (12), Loge (11), and Cook (10). 

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:As a team, the Cobbers are shooting 43.9 percent (143-for-326) from the field, with 45 3-pointers, and are 80-for-109 (73.4 %) from the free throw line. … CC is averaging 68.5 ppg, while limiting their first six opponents to a 59.3 ppg scoring average. … Concordia has scored 70 or more points in three of its six games — including 80 points in an 80-53 win over UMN Morris on Nov. 8 and a season-high 81-point showing in beating Macalester 81-70 on Nov. 21. … CC has been held under 60 points three times — and have won two of those three, beating UW-River Falls (57-56) and Bethel (57-52). …