ARDEN HILL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team was flying high when it took the court for its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown against Bethel.
 
A 92-point, streak-snapping victory will do that to a team.
 
Unfortunately, the Cardinals' high-flying offense was grounded against the Royals, as Bethel limited SMU to just 65 points and maintained a 12-point halftime lead over the game's final 20 minutes in dealing SMU a 77-65 conference setback at Robertson Center Gym.
 
The Cardinals — coming off a 92-80 win over St. Scholastica in snapping a four-game losing streak on Wednesday — picked up right where they had left off against St. Scholastica, scoring the game's first seven points against the Royals, getting field goals from Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) and Bruce Lockwood (Shakopee, Minn.), and a 3-pointer from Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.).
 
The Royals, however, rattled off 18 of the next 22 points to transform a seven-point deficit into a seven-point advantage, 18-11, with 10:37 to play in the opening half — and the Cardinals would be forced to play catch-up the rest of the day.
 
Fueled by that 18-4 run, Bethel outscored the Cardinals 25-20 over the final 10 minutes to take a 12-point, 43-31 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
Saint Mary's began chipping away at the Royals' lead the minute the second half began, and clawed its way to within five points, 69-64 on an Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) with 3:39 to play in regulation. BU, however, responded by using a 6-1 run to push its lead back to 10, 75-65 — and the Cardinals didn't have a late-game answer.
 
Buysman posted his second straight 24-point night to lead the Cardinals, going 10-for-20 from the field with three 3-pointers and hit on 1 of 2 free throw attempts. Lockwood also finished in double figures for SMU, scoring 11 points.
 
As a team, Saint Mary's shot 42.9 percent from the field (27-for-63), with eight 3-pointers, and went 3 of 6 from the free throw line.
 
The Cardinals (1-5 MIAC, 2-8 overall) close out the 2023 portion of their schedule on Wednesday, when they entertain UW-La Crosse in a nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Gym. Opening tip is slated for 7 p.m.
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