DULUTH, Minn. - The Saint Mary's men's basketball team (3-5) closed out a three-game week Saturday afternoon to take on the Saints of Saint Scholastica (3-5). The Cardinals were defeated in their opening game of conference play, 77-66.
 
Senior Jabari Sawyer put the Cardinals on the scoreboard with an assist from fellow senior Owen Ziegler. On the next possession, Sawyer returned the favor by setting up Ziegler for an open three-pointer, 5-2.
 
The Cardinals struggled to score, allowing the Saints to take a 10-5 lead over the next few minutes. However, Bailey McDonald's and Jemari Moore combined for the next few points, helping the Cardinals reclaim the lead at 15-10.
 
McDonald sparked the Cardinals with a steal and layup, followed by a jumper, contributing the next four points to shift momentum in their favor. However, the momentum fizzled out as the Cardinals struggled in the final minutes, scoring only seven points over the last six minutes of the half. Meanwhile, the Saints closed the half strong, scoring 17 points in the final minutes to take a 13-point lead into halftime, 41-38.
 
Despite a quick three-points from Moore, the Cardinals quickly found themselves trailing by 16 points within the first five minutes of the second half. However, they began to chip away at the deficit as Moore forced a steal, leading to a breakaway score by McDonald. On the next possession, Ziegler knocked down a three-pointer, cutting the Saints' lead to just nine with 11 minutes remaining.
 
The Cardinals closed the gap to eight points after a layup from Moore and a three-pointer from Ziegler at the 10-minute mark, but they struggled to keep up with the Saints' hot shooting.
It was that same hot shooting that hurt the Cardinals in the first half, as the Cardinals outscored the Saints' in the second half, 38-36. The Cardinals would go on to drop their league opener.
 
Moore led the team with 18 points, just one shy of his career high, along with two steals. Sawyer added 13 points, shooting 50 percent from the field, while McDonald set a career high with 14 points, perfect from the free-throw line.
 
The Cardinals will be back in action at home on Wednesday, December 11th, with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off against Saint John's.