SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2022-23: 10-8 MIAC, 14-9 Overall

BETHEL ROYALS

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2022-23: 7-11 MIAC, 9-14 Overall

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SMU-BU * EARLIER THIS YEAR:

W, 77-65 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Feb. 11, 2023 * Collegeville, MN

Saint John’s * L, 90-58

BETHEL * LAST ACTION:

Feb. 11, 2023 * Northfield, MN

St. Olaf * L, 82-59

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Feb. 18, 2023 * Winona, MN

Gustavus * 1:00

BETHEL * UP NEXT: 

Feb. 18, 2023 * Arden Hills, MN

Saint John’s * 1:00

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their mid-week conference showdown at Bethel on Wednesday sitting at 14-9 overall, including a 10-8 showing in MIAC action.

• LAST TIME OUT: Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) scored a team-high 17 points, but the Cardinals could not cool off the red-hot shooting of Saint John’s, as the Johnnies shot 67.2 percent from the field in dealing SMU a 90-58 conference setback last Saturday at Sexton Arena in Collegeville, Minn.

• WIN AND THEY’RE IN: Saint Mary’s heads into the final week of the regular season sitting in fourth place in the conference standings, one game back of Saint John’s (11-7) and Macalester (11-7), and one game up on Hamline (9-9) and Gustavus (9-9). … SMU needs one win in its final two games to lock up a berth in the six-team MIAC Playoffs. Carleton (15-3), Macalester and Saint John’s have already locked up post-season berths, leaving three spots left. 

• REGIONAL RANKINGS: The Cardinals cracked into the latest NCAA Division III Region IX rankings, it was announced Thursday — marking the first time in program history SMU has been rginoally ranked.. UW-Oshkosh is sitting No. 1, followed by Carleton, UW-La Crosse, UW-Eau Claire, Bethany Lutheran, UW-Whitewater, and Saint Mary's.

• SPEED BUMP: The Cardinals’ loss to Saint John’s last Saturday snapped their three-game winning streak. SMU is 11-3 in its last 14 games — a run that includes a program-record eight-game winning streak. 

• HOME SWEET HOME: Wednesday’s game at Bethel is the final regular-season road game for the Cardinals, who close out the regular-season slate on their home court against Gustavus on Saturday. … SMU boasts a 9-2 record on its home court this season, while going 5-7 in 12 road contests. 

• WIN NO. 14: With their win over Augsburg last Wednesday, the Cardinals improved to 14-9 overall — marking the second time in five years under coach Joe Fano that SMU has recorded 14 wins. The 14 victories are the most wins since George Drouches led Saint Mary’s to a 15-10 record during the 1984-85 season.

• CLOSE CALLS: Saint Mary’s went a stretch from Jan. 28-Feb. 1 in which all three games were decided in the game’s final four seconds. SMU lost to Carleton 65-63 on Jan. 28 on a pair of Knight free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining, dropped an 87-85 overtime decision to Hamline on Jan. 30 on an HU buzzer-beating 3-pointer, and beat St. Olaf 66-65 two days later when Anthony completed a four-point play with 4.0 seconds remaining.

• CLOSE CALLS II: Six of Saint Mary’s last eight games have been decided by four points or less, while 16 of the Cardinals’ 23 games this season have been decided by 10 points or less — including 13 of 17 MIAC contests.

• DOUBLE-DIGIT AVERAGES: Anthony, who has scored in double figures in all 23 contests this season — and 60 times in his four-year collegiate career — is averaging a team- and conference-leading 24.2 ppg, while Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) and Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) are also averaging in double figures at 12.7 ppg and 12.3 ppg, respectively. … Anthony’s 24.3 ppg scoring average is not only tops in the conference, but is also No. 2 in all of NCAA Division III, behind E.J. Day of Lasell (25.8 ppg). 

• GREATER THAN 20: Saint Mary’s has had a player score 20 or more points in 17 of its 23 games this season — including 13 of their last 16 contests. … Anthony has scored 20+ points in a game 16 times this season, including five games of 30 or more points.

• GREATER THAN 20 x 3: The Cardinals boasted three players with 20 or more points in the same game for the first time in program history against Augsburg on Jan. 16, getting 22 points from Sawyer, and 21 each from Anthony and Ziegler. … SMU has now had two or more players score 20+ points in the same game five times this season.

• GREATER THAN 30 x 6: Saint Mary’s has had a player score 30 or more points in a game six times this season. Anthony has posted a 30-point game against Crown on Nov. 8, a 32-point showing against Saint John’s on Jan. 7, a 33-point night against Hamline on Jan. 30, and 41-point showings against both North Park on Dec. 30 and Concordia last Jan. 21, while Ziegler delivered 30 points against Carleton on Dec. 3.

• CAREER SCORING NIGHTS: Saint Mary’s boast five players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Anthony (41), Ziegler (30), Mason Klett (Apple Valley, Minn. / 27), Buysman (25), and Sawyer (22), while Lockwood equaled his career-high with 10 points against Hamline on Jan. 4. 

• AMONG THE PROGRAM’S BEST: Anthony’s 41-point showing against both North Park on Dec. 30 and vs. Concordia on Jan. 21 are the highest single-game individual performances since Will Wright netted 41 against MacMurray on Nov. 22, 2008. … Anthony’s 41 points are 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.

• JOINING THE CLUB: With his field goal at 5:48 of the second half against Finlandia on Jan. 2, Anthony became the 28th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Anthony — who is SMU’s first 1,000-point scorer since Eli Cave ’21 hit the milestone during the 2020-21 season — currently sits 10th all-time with 1,328 career points. Next up: Tom Keenan ’68 (1,330), and Lukas Holland ’11 (1,362).

• HITTING DOUBLE DIGITS: Saint Mary’s has put at least three players in double figures in 17 of its 23 games – including four double-figure scorers in the same game seven times.

• PERFECTION: Anthony had his consecutive free throws streak snapped at 21 straight, with a miss late in the second half of SMU’s game at Hamline on Jan. 30. Anthony’s 21 straight streak including a 10-for-10 effort against Concordia on Jan. 21. The 10 made free throws against the Cobbers marked the third time this season Anthony has netted at least 10 free throws in a game.

• ON THE GLASS: Anthony leads the team in rebounds with 208 (9.0 rpg). Bruce Lockwood (Shakopee, Minn.) is sitting second with 97 rebounds (4.2 rpg), followed by Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill. / 81, 3.5 rpg), Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill. / 77, 3.3 rpg), Buysman (74, 3.2 rpg), and Ziegler (60, 2.6 rpg). … Anthony’s 15 rebounds against Hamline on Jan. 4 matched his career-high and were just one shy of the program record of 16, set by Will Swiggum against Martin Luther on Nov. 24, 2015. … Lockwood posted a career-high 11 rebounds against St. Scholastica on Feb. 4, while Nick Falls (Plymouth, Wis.) notched a career-best 10 boards against Hamline on Jan.30.

• DOUBLING UP: Along with his 26 points against Augsburg last Wednesday, Anthony also delivered 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. … Anthony now owns 20 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.

• GOING DEEP: Saint Mary’s equaled the program’s single-game record with 14 3-pointers against Finlandia on Jan. 2. It marked the second time this season the Cardinals have hit 14 3s in a game, having first achieved the feat against Carleton on Dec. 3.

• PROGRAM’S SHARPEST SHARPSHOOTER: Ziegler went 3-for-5 from behind the 3-point line against Augsburg last Wednesday to break the single-season record of 71, held by Donald Jordan during the 1994-95 season. … Ziegler — who leads the team with 74 treys — netted a single-game program record eight 3-pointers for the second straight game against Carleton on Dec. 3, 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.

• AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS: The Cardinals — who have knocked down 212 3-pointers in 23 games — are No. 1 in NCAA Division III in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 40.8 percent (212-for-519) from behind the arc. … Ziegler is currently sitting eighth in the country in 3-point FG percentage (46.8%). 

• LENDING A HAND: Along with leading the team in scoring and rebounding, Anthony also boasts a team-best 102 assists, followed by Sawyer with 63. … 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. … 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

• WEEKLY HONORS: Saint Mary’s has had two players named MIAC Offensive Player of the Week — Buysman on Dec. 19, 2022 and Anthony on Jan. 9, 2023 and Feb. 6, 2023. It was the fifth career MIAC Player of the Week honor for Anthony, who has also been named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week on Jan. 3, Jan. 10, and Jan. 24.

• NATIONAL RECOGNITION: Small College Basketball and the National Awards Committee announced the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List for the 2022-23 season on Jan. 15 — which included the Cardinals’ Anthon. The Top 100 Watch List consists of some of the top players from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA.

• HITTING 100: The Cardinals’ 102 points in their 102-68 win over Finlandia on Jan. 2 were the most since they beat Luther 103-97 in overtime on Nov. 30, 2019. … Saint Mary’s has now had a team score 100 or more points 10 times in program history — including a program-record 110 in a 110-99 win over UM-Duluth on Jan. 26, 1956.

• BIG HALF: The Cardinals erupted for 55 first-half points against Finlandia on Jan. 2, the highest single-half performance in more than 30 years. … SMU has scored 40 or more points in a half in 15 of its 22 games — including 40+ in both halves against Carleton (Dec. 3), Finlandia (Jan. 2), Hamline (Jan. 4), and Augsburg (Jan. 16).

• STREAK FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: SMU’s program-record eight-game winning streak from Dec. 14-Jan. 16 included victories over then-No. 7 UW-La Crosse, followed by back-to-back nonconference victories over North Park and Finlandia, and six consecutive conference triumphs — including a 69-57 win over Saint John’s on Jan. 7 that snapped a 29-game losing streak against the Johnnies.

• TAKING THEM DOWN: 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.

• SEASON-BESTS: SMU shot a season-high 54.7 percent from the field in its win over Augsburg on Jan. 16 — it was the highest single-game shooting percentage since going 28-for-56 (60.9 %) against North Park on Dec. 29, 2018. … Saint Mary’s recorded season-highs in numerous statistical categories against Finlandia on Jan. 2, including points (102), field goals made (41), field goals attempted (82), 3-pointers made (14), 3-pointers attempted (36), rebounds (52), assists (23), and blocked shots (6).

• WORKING OVERTIME: Saint Mary’s 87-85 loss to Hamline last Monday was its first overtime game of the first — and SMU’s first since falling to Carleton 76-66 on Feb.14, 2022. SMU played two OT games last season, also dropping a 79-73 decision to Augustana on Nov. 16, 2021.

• BY THE NUMBERS: The Cardinals are shooting 45.8 percent from the field (647-for-1413), with 212 3-pointers, and are 220-for-288 (76.4 %) from the free throw line. … Saint Mary’s is averaging 75.0 ppg, while the Cardinals’ opponents are scoring at a 71.0 ppg clip. … Saint Mary’s has scored 80 or more points in a game eight times this season, including a season-high 102 against Finlandia on Jan. 2.

BETHEL ROYALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Royals enter the final two games of the regular season sitting at 9-14 overall, including a 7-11 mark in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: St. Olaf scored 41 points in both halves and shot 53.8 percent from the field in rolling to an 82-59 conference win over the Royals last Saturday in Northfield, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Wednesday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the first of back-to-back home games to close out the regular season for the Royals, who will host Saint John’s in their regular-season finale on Saturday. … Bethel is 6-4 on its home court, while sitting at 3-10 away from Robertson Center Gym. 

• COOLING OFF: After posting back-to-back-to-back wins over Concordia (81-76), Augsburg (77-65), and Hamline (85-67), the Royals have dropped two straight – falling to league-leading Carleton (86-81) and St. Olaf (92-59). 

• LEADING THE CHARGE: BU enters its mid-week game against Saint Mary’s boasting four players who are averaging in double figures in scoring. Zach Doely leads the Royals’ offense, scoring at a 19.1 ppg clip, while Joey Kidder (14.3 ppg), Payton Thomsen (13.2 ppg), and Avery Mast (10.4 ppg) are also averaging more than 10 points-per-game. … Doely and Thomsen have accounted for BU’s to five offensive performances — including a 31-point showing by Thomsen against Macalester on Dec. 10, and a season-high 32-point effort by Doely against Gustavus on Jan. 4. 

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Doely has been a rebounding machine for the Royals, hauling in 202 boards (9.2 rpg) — 69 on the offensive end and 133 on the defensive. … Kidder is second on the team with 97 rebounds (6.5 rpg), followed by Thomsen (81, 3.5 rpg) and Caden Boettcher (72, 3.1 rpg). … Doely has recorded seven games with 10 or more rebounds, including 16 against both Augsburg and Northwestern, and a season-high 17 vs. St. Olaf.

• RAINING IN 3s: Bethel has poured in 180 3-pointers through 23 games, led by Mast, who has 38 treys on 124 attempts (30.6 %). … Tommy Jensen (37), Thomsen (36), Kidder (17), and Boettcher (12) have also knocked down 10+ 3-pointers this season.

• LENDING A HAND: The Royals boast five players who have dished out more than 20 assists this season, led by Kidder with 63. Doely (53), Sam Nelson (39), Thomsen (32), and Jensen (25) have also recorded more than 20 helpers.

• BY THE NUMBERS: Bethel is shooting 45.8 percent from the field (630-for-1377), with 180 3-pointers, and are 281-for-390 (72.1 %) from the free throw line. … The Royals are averaging 74.8 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 78.9 ppg clip. … BU has scored 85 or more points five times this season, including 91 points in dropping St. Scholastica 91-66 on Jan. 18, and a season-high 92 in a 96-92 overtime loss to Gustavus on Jan. 25. On the flip side, Bethel has been held to 60 or fewer points three times, including 53 in a XX-53 loss to UW-La Crosse on Dec. 31.