NORTHFIELD, Minn. — For the second game in a row, the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team found itself staring at a rather daunting double-digit first-half deficit.
 
Just three days after rallying from a 20-point halftime deficit, only to have their second-half push fall just short in a 72-63 loss to Gustavus, the Cardinals got off to another slow start and went into the break against Carleton down by 17.
 
Unlike Wednesday, however, the lead didn't shrink over the game's final 20 minutes — it only grew larger — as Carleton outscored Saint Mary's 48-26 in the second half in pulling away for a 90-51 victory in the Cardinals' season finale at West Gym.
 
The Knight had the upper hand from start-to-finish, using a 12-0 run early in the first half to turn a two-point game into a commanding 21-7 Carleton advantage. Saint Mary's whittled that lead down to seven, 21-14, only to have Carleton score 21 of the final 32 points in to take its 17-point, 42-25 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
And it was more of the same from the Knights in the second half, as Carleton shot a sizzling 62.5 percent from the field with eight 3-pointers to secure the victory.
 
Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) scored a team-high 17 points and Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill.) chipped in 14 to pace the Cardinals, who shot 40.0 percent from the field (22-for-55) — hitting 11 field goals in each half — while going 5-for-17 from behind the 3-point line and knocking down 2 of 4 free throw attempts.
 
With the loss, the Cardinals close out the 2023-24 season with a 7-13 record in conference play, while going 8-17 overall.
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