MOORHEAD, Minn. - Saint Mary's men's basketball team (4-9) traveled to Concordia College (6-8) for their first game of 2025, facing off against the Cobbers in the opening matchup of the conference series. The Cardinals fell to the Cobbers 75-69 in a competitive matchup at Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minnesota.
 
Jabari Sawyer led the team with 14 points, shooting 50% from the field, along with two assists.
Khai Branham led the team in three-pointers, making three out of eight attempts, contributing a total of 11 points. Sawyer Markham excelled defensively, recording four steals along with nine points and four assists. Jemari Moore also made a significant impact with two steals and contributed 10 points, proving to be an asset on both ends of the court. Jackson Harvey was notable for his rebounding efforts, leading the team with seven rebounds and adding 13 points by making three out of five three-pointers. 
 
Branham kicked off the game with a three-pointer on the Cardinals opening possession. Jabari Sawyer then scored his first points, assisted by Milan Adamovic. The Cobbers responded with a 6-point run, capitalizing on two consecutive offensive rebounds to stretch their lead to 12-8 with 10 minutes to go.
 
Saint Mary's fired back with a 10-0 run to retake the lead. The rally began with a well-executed inbounds play that set up Moore for an easy layup. Markham contributed with a deep three-pointer and a steal, which led to a fast-break layup. Jonah Ogunsanya then hit his first three of the game, and Harvey added a floater for his first points, forcing the Cobbers' head coach to call a timeout with seven minutes remaining up 22-14.
 
The Cardinals maintained a lead of five points or more after Markham scored a layup off an assist from Breyton Buysman. Sawyer, a strong free throw shooter, poured in two free throws down the stretch inside three minutes 
 
The Cardinals heated up late in the half, draining four consecutive three-pointers. Branham made two of them, bringing his season total to 17, while Moore and Sawyer each added one. This scoring spree pushed them to their first double-digit lead of the game, finishing the half at 40-27.
 
Sawyer picked up right where he left off, knocking down the first three of the half, and Buysman followed with a jumper of his own, making it 45-33. The Cobbers took advantage of a couple of breaks to spark a seven-point run with 12 minutes left in the game.
 
Harvey knocked down a three-pointer as the shot clock was running out, halting the Cobbers run and making it 55-47. He followed up by sinking two more three-pointers with nine minutes remaining.
 
The Cobbers were capitalizing on every second-chance opportunity, converting them to close the gap to just three points at 58-55. At the seven-minute mark, the Cobbers had collected 16 offensive rebounds, compared to just four for the Cardinals.
 
With four minutes remaining, the Cobbers reclaimed the lead for the first time since the early 12-8 score, now leading 62-61.
 
The Cardinals went scoreless over the final four minutes of the game as the Cobbers capitalized offensively, extending their lead to eight points. With under a minute to play, Ogunsanya scored a layup to cut the deficit to five, and Moore followed with a late three-pointer to make it a four-point game. However, the comeback fell short as the Cobbers calmly sank their free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
 
The Cardinals will fall to 0-4 in conference action. They return to the hardwood on Wednesday, January 8th for a 5:30 p.m. tip off at Augsburg.