SUPERIOR, Wis. — After returning back from holiday break, the Saint Mary's men's basketball team (1-11) dropped a 77–56 decision to Wisconsin Superior (3-9) on Monday night at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium. 

The Cardinals moved the ball well, finishing with 17 assists, but couldn't overcome the Yellow Jackets' dominance on the glass and in the paint, where Superior held a 38–28 rebounding edge and scored 40 points inside.

Saint Mary's came out with energy and traded early baskets with the Yellow Jackets. 

Reid Klug knocked down a three-pointer at the 15:59 mark to even the score at 8–8, then followed it up with a fastbreak layup just seconds later to give the Cardinals a brief 10–8 lead. 

The defense showed out for five minutes as the Cardinals forced back-to-back turnovers leading to fastbreak points for Abraham Kamara and Klug to take a seven point advantage at the 13:39 mark at 15-8.

The Yellow Jackets quickly seized momentum, however, using a 19–2 run to swing the game in its favor. 

The Yellow Jackets capitalized on Cardinal turnovers down the stretch of the half and took a 37–22 lead into the break.

To spark the second half, Klug buried back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the period to cut the deficit to 12. Mitchell Hill added another triple shortly after to make it 50–38 and keep Saint Mary's within striking distance. 

Each time the Cardinals threatened, though, the Yellow Jackets answered with timely baskets and trips to the free-throw line to maintain control.

Saint Mary's scored 34 points in the second half, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome as Wisconsin–Superior pulled away for the 77–56 win.

Klug led the way for the Cardinals with 17 points and four assists. He was hot from the field going 3-of-6 beyond the arc and 6-of-10 from the field. Off the bench, Khai Branham net 10 points and gave the Cardinals a spark.

The Cardinals have officially closed out the season's nonconference slate and shift their focus to the tough conference season kicking back in action this Saturday, Jan. 3 at Macalester for a 3:00 p.m. tip off.