SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 1-4 MIAC, 2-7 Overall

BETHEL ROYALS

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2023-24: 2-2 MIAC, 2-4 Overall

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SMU-BETHEL * A YEAR AGO:

W, 77-65 * W, 83-67 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Dec. 6, 2023 * Duluth, MN

St. Scholastica * W, 92-80

BETHEL * LAST ACTION:

Dec. 4, 2023 * Arden Hills, MN

Macalester * W, 75-60

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Dec. 13, 2023 * Winona, MN

UW-La Crosse * 7 p.m.

BETHEL * UP NEXT: 

Dec. 16, 2023 * Arden Hills, MN

UW-Eau Claire * 1 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into Saturday’s road conference showdown against Bethel sitting at 2-7 overall, while sitting at 1-4 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals picked up their first conference win of the season last Wednesday, getting 25 points from Cameron Mallory (Cameron, Wis.) and 24 from Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) en route to a 92-80 victory over St. Scholastica Wednesday in Duluth, Minn.

• ROAD WARRIORS: The Cardinals are in the midst of playing four of five games on the road — the lone exception, last Monday’s 71-57 loss to Concordia. SMU will close out the 2022 portion of its schedule with a home game against UW-La Crosse on Wednesday. … Saint Mary’s is currently 1-3 on its home court, while sporting a 1-4 record away from the Saint Mary’s Gym..

• FACING THE NATION’S BEST: Saint Mary’s has 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.

• STREAKING: With their 12-point, 92-80 win over St. Scholastica on Wednesday, the Cardinals put an end to their season-high four-game losing streak. … SMU’s win on Wednesday was its fifth straight win against the Saints and moved the Cardinals to 7-1 against CSS all-time.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Mallory and Buysman heads into Saturday’s matchup at Bethel boasting team-leading 16.4 ppg and 16.3 ppg scoring averages, respectively. Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) is also averaging in double figures, sitting at 10.3 ppg, while Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) is fourth on the team at 7.9 ppg. … Mallory has led or shared the team lead in scoring in six of SMU’s first nine games.

• HITTING DOUBLE FIGURES: Mallory has scored in double figures in eight of SMU’s first nine contests. He has set a new single-game career high three times this season — netting a then-career-high 20 points against UW-Platteville on Nov. 10, bettering that by three with a 23-point showing against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18, before pouring in a new career-best with 25 points against St. Scholastica on Wednesday. … Buysman has scored in double figures in seven of SMU’s nine games — including a season-high 24-point effort twice — against Hamline on Nov. 21 and vs. St. Scholastica on Wednesday.

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

• GREATER THAN 20 x 2: With Mallory’s 25 points and Buysman’s 24 against St. Scholastica on Wednesday, the Cardinals recorded their second game with two players reaching the 20-point mark in the same game. The duo also achieved the feat against St. Olaf on Dec. 2. … 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 25-point showing against St. Scholastica on Wednesday was a career high, while Bruce Lockwood (Shakopee, Minn.) tallied a career-best 11 points against Hamline on Nov. 21 and Jemari Moore (Broadview, Ill.) delivered a career-high 14 points against Concordia on Dec. 4. … 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 on Nov. 29 — Mallory (13 points), Sawyer (11), Lockwood (11), Buysman (10), and Moore (10). It was the first time SMU has put five players in double figures in the same game since Jan. 15, 2022.

• ON THE GLASS: Saint Mary’s boasts five players with 20 or more rebounds through nine games, led by Lockwood with 46 (5.1 rpg). Busman owns 42 boards (4.7 rpg), followed by Sawyer (40, 4.8 rpg) and Mallory (38, 4.2 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.

• FEW FREE POINTS: The Cardinals attempted just two free throws — making both — in Monday’s 71-57 loss to Concordia. It was the fewest FT made in a game since hitting 2 of 4 against St. Olaf on Feb. 9, 2015, while the two FT attempts were the fewest since Feb. 8, 2006, when SMU went 0-for-1 from the line against Hamline. 

• GOING DEEP: Saint Mary’s, which knocked down 242 3-pointers and led the nation in 3-point FG percentage (46.2 %), has made 62 of 184 3-point attempts this season (33.1 %) — including a season-high 12 treys against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18. … Ziegler leads the team with 19 treys, followed by Buysman with 10 and Khai Branham (Bemidji, Minn.) with 10, and Mallory with nine. … The Cardinals have gotten at least one 3 from eight different players. … 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 65 of the team’s 121 assists through nine games, with Ziegler dishing out 33 helpers and Sawyer adding 31. Buysman is third with 15 assists, two 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 46.7 percent from the field (251-for-538), with 62 3-pointers, and are 72 of 102 (70.6 %) from the free throw line. … SMU is averaging 70.7 ppg, with its opponents scoring at an 81.3 ppg clip. … Saint Mary’s has scored 70 or more points in five of its first nine games — including a season-high 92 points against St. Scholastica on Wednesday. … SMU’s 92-point effort in its 92-80 win over St. Scholastica on Wednesday were the most since netting a season-high 102 against Finlandia on Jan. 2, 2023.

BETHEL SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Royals enter Saturday’s conference matchup against Saint Mary’s sitting at 2-4 overall, including sporting a 2-2 mark through their first four MIAC contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: Bethel knocked down eight of its nine first-half 3-pointers and never cooled off in cruising to a 75-60 conference win over Macalester Wednesday evening in Arden Hills, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the third of four straight home games for the Royals, who will entertain UW-Eau Claire at Robertson Center Gym on Dec. 16, before closing out the 2023 portion of their schedule with games against Dickinson and Berea (Ky.) in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Dec. 19-20. … BU’s win over Macalester on Wednesday was its first home win in three tries. The Royals are also 1-2 on the road thus far this season.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: The Royals come into Saturday’s matchup against Saint Mary’s boasting four players who are averaging in double figures in scoring. Payton Thomsen leads the Royals’ offensive charge with a 17.3 ppg scoring average, while Zach Doely (15.2 ppg), Nick Burke (11.5 ppg), and Joey Kidder (10.5 ppg). … Doely has netted 10 or more points in all six games this season. … Thomsen has scored in double figures in four of BU’s six games — including 26 points against Hamline on Nov. 29, 28 vs. Augsburg on Nov. 21, and a season-high 31-point effort against UW-La Crosse on Nov. 18. … Burke and Thomsen have both led or shared the team in scoring three times. 

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Doely has hauled in a team-best 63 rebounds this season and is averaging a double-double, adding 10.5 rpg to his 15.2 ppg scoring average. … Burke is second to Doely with 34 rebounds (5.7 rpg), followed by Caden Boettcher (22, 4.4 rpg), and Emmanuel Schmitter (22, 3.7 rpg). … Doely, who has posted 10+ rebounds four times this season, hauled in a season-best 13 boards against Concordia on Dec. 2. … Burke delivered a season-best 12 rebounds against Macalester on Wednesday.

• DOUBLING UP: Doely collected his fourth straight double-double with a 14-point, 11-rebound effort against Macalester on Wednesday. Burke also had a double-double against the Scots with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Bethel has knocked down 43 3-pointers, going 43-for-129 (33.3 $), and have gotten at least one trey from nine of the 11 players who have seen action this season. … Burke and Thomsen have accounted for 28 of the team’s 43 3-pointers, hitting 14 3s each. 

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:As a team, the Royals are shooting 43.2 percent from the field (144-for-359), including 43-for-129 from the 3-point line, while going 58 of 91 (63.7 %) from the free throw line. … BU is averaging 68.5 ppg, while the Royals’ opponents are scoring at a 70.5 ppg clip. … Bethel has broken the 80-point barrier twice this season — falling to UW-La Crosse 93-81 on Nov. 18, while beating Augsburg 81-79 three days later. … Four of BU’s six games have been decided by 10 points or less, including a five-point loss to Concordia and a two-point setback at the hands of Hamline.