WINONA, Minn. – If there's one thing that can be said about Saint john's, it's that the Johnnies can score points — a lot of points.
 
SJU entered its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup against the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team leading the league in scoring offense — averaging 82.9 ppg — while also sitting No. 1 in the league in field goal percentage (50.3 %) and 3-point field goal percentage (42.3 %).
 
And, unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Johnnies lived up to their high-scoring billing,
 
The Johnnies eclipsed their league-leading averages in all three offensive categories — shooting 52.8 percent from the field (28-for-53) and 48.0 percent from behind the 3-point line (12-for-25), while scoring 84 points — as Saint John's pulled away early in dealing the Cardinals an 84-59 setback Wednesday at the Saint Mary's Gym.  
 
Saint Mary's stayed right with the Johnnies through the early part of the opening half, holding a three-point lead, 12-9 on a Jermaine Moore () jumper, but SJU took the lead for good, 16-14 on a Luke Budzyn field goal minutes later. With dead-eye accuracy from behind 3-point land, SJU slowly pulled away and closed out the half with a 14-point, 40-26 advantage.
 
The Johnnies — who shot 60.0 percent from the field (15-for-25) with six 3-pointers in the opening half — picked up right where they left off, riding a 15-4 run to a 25-point, 55-30 cushion with 14:54 to play.
 
SMU responded with eight unanswered points — including six straight points from Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill.) — to cut the lead down to 17, 59-38, but that would be as close as the Cardinals would get.
 
Mallory finished with a team-leading 19 points, while Bruce Lockwood (Shakopee, Minn.) chipped in a career-best 14 points and added a career-high 12 rebounds en route to his first collegiate double-double. As a team, Saint Mary's shot 37.7 percent from the field (26-for-69), but hit on just 2 of 12 3-point attempts, and added a 5-for-7 showing at the free throw line.
 
The Cardinals (2-9 MIAC, 3-13 overall) are right back on their home court on Saturday, welcoming St. Olaf to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 3 p.m. MIAC contest.
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