WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team came into its matchup against St. Scholastica having had 12 of its 16 conference contests decided by 10 points or less — including the victor being decided in the game's final four seconds in each of its last three contests.
So why should Saturday be any different
The Cardinals — who got 19 points from
Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) and 14 from
Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) — withstood a furious second-half St. Scholastica rally and held on for a 57-54 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the Saint Mary's Gym.
The Saints gave Saint Mary's every opportunity to run away and hide in the first half, shooting just 5 of 25 from the field, including 3-for-18 from the 3-point line — two of which came in the final two minutes of the opening stanza.
SMU allowed St. Scholastica one chance to play with the lead — getting a 3-pointer from Kevin Thomas for an early 3-2 advantage — before taking complete control.
The Cardinals pushed their lead to as many as 16, 26-10 on a layup by
Bruce Lockwood (Shakopee, Minn.), only to have CSS use those two late 3-pointers to whittle the lead to 10, 28-18.
Joey White (Bluff Siding, Wis.) drilled a 3-pointer in the waning seconds — SMU's fourth trey of the half — to give the Cardinals a 13-point cushion at the break.
As cold as St. Scholastica was in the opening 20 minutes, the halftime intermission did a number on the Saints' shooting touch, as CSS outscored Saint Mary's 16-3 in the first five minutes to take a one-point, 34-32 lead.
That would be the last time the Saints played with the lead, as the Cardinals – who missed eight of their first nine second-half field goal attempts — rattled off six unanswered points to regain the advantage 40-34.
St. Scholastica would hang around, clawing back within one on two occasions — including 53-52 with 48 seconds on the clock, but Anthony and
Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) sandwiched two free throws each around a Winesett field goal — to clinch the win for the Cardinals.
Anthony scored 12 of his team-high 19 points in the second half, finishing the day 7 of 13 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line, while Ziegler knocked down four 3-pointers and added a pair of assists en route to his 14-point night. Lockwood enjoyed a career day on the boards, hauling in 11 rebounds to go along with six points.
As a team, Saint Mary's shot 33.9 percent from the field (20-for-51), with eight 3-pointers, and tallied a 9-for-11 effort from the free throw line.
The Cardinals (9-7 MIAC, 13-8 overall) are back in action — and back on their home court — on Wednesday, when they entertain Augsburg in a 7 p.m. conference matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
