WINONA, Minn. — So this is how it feels.
 
After back-to-back losses — both decided in the final two seconds — the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team experienced how the other half lives, enjoying the thrill of victory, rather than the agony of defeat, in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup against St. Olaf Wednesday.
 
Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) capped a 25-point night by completing a four-point play — getting fouled on a game-tying 3-pointer with four seconds remaining in regulation — to lift the Cardinals to a 66-65 come-from-behind victory over St. Olaf at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Cardinals trailed by 12, 63-51, with 4:15 to play in regulation, before beginning a miraculous comeback, outscoring the Oles 14-2 to pull even at 63-63 — and set up Anthony's buzzer-beating heroics.
 
It was a tale of two halves in the opening 20 minutes, as the Cardinals control things in the opening 10 minutes, while Oles wrestled away the momentum — and the lead – over the final 10.
 
The Cardinals, the nation's leading 3-point shooting team, raced out to a 10-2 lead — without the benefit of a 3-pointer. Eight unanswered points as part of a 14-4 run propelled the Oles into a 16-14 lead.
 
And then the SMU long-range bombers got zeroed in. Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) hit the Cardinals' first trey midway through the half, and Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) knocked down a pair of 3s, as Saint Mary's regained a five-point advantage, 23-15. St. Olaf once again responded, netting 18 of the final 23 points in the half — including eight straight to end the opening period — to take a 33-28 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
St. Olaf appeared poised to run away and hide, expanding that five-point lead to a game-high 13, 47-34, six minutes into the second half. Saint Mary's whittled the lead down to four, 53-49, with 9:10 on the clock, only to have the Oles rattle off 10 of the next 12 points to take what appeared to be an insurmountable 63-51 lead with less than five minutes to play.
 
Anthony & Co., however, were unfazed by the mountain they had to climb — they just climbed.
 
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Ziegler and a free throw from Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) cut the lead to five, 63-58, with 1:40 remaining. St. Olaf turned the ball over for the third straight possession, and Sawyer capitalized with a driving layup to make it a three-point game, 63-60.
 
The Oles came up empty on their next trip down the court, and Anthony delivered to cut the St. Olaf advantage to one, 63-62. Kobe Kirk hit a pair of free throws with 16.1 seconds to play to up the Ole lead to three, 65-62.
 
With time running down and the ball in Anthony's hands, the senior calmly delivered a 3-pointer over the outstretch arm of Kirk, who was whistled for a foul on the play — and Anthony knocked down the free throw to seal the win.
 
Anthony finished with a team-high 25 points — including 18 in the second half — to lead three Cardinals in double figures. Ziegler chipped in 19 points, including a 5-for-11 showing from beyond the 3-point line, and Sawyer chipped in 10 points.
 
As a team, Saint Mary's shot 46.6 percent from the field (28-for-58), with a 10 of 23 showing from 3-point range, and made 2 of 4 free throws. St. Olaf went 27 of 58 from the field (46.6 percent) with five 3-pointers, and were a perfect 6 of 6 from the free throw line.
 
The Cardinals (8-7 MIAC, 12-7 overall) are right back on their home court on Saturday, as they welcome St. Scholastica to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 1 p.m. MIAC matchup.
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