WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's men's basketball team fought until the final buzzer Wednesday night at David R. Thies Arena, but ultimately came up short in an 84–74 loss to St. Olaf (11-7, 7-2). The Cardinals (1-16, 0-8 MIAC) showed their toughness inside, scoring 44 points in the paint and staying within striking distance for much of the contest.
Jackson Harvey paced Saint Mary's with 21 points on an efficient 10-of-16 shooting performance, while Reid Weckwerth added 20 points and was perfect from the free-throw line, knocking down all seven of his attempts. Reid Klug recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, anchoring the Cardinals inside while also swatting away two shots. Sawyer Markham filled the stat sheet with five assists and five rebounds.
The Cardinals answered St. Olaf's opening basket almost immediately, as Harvey finished a layup just 46 seconds into the game to even the score. Saint Mary's used strong rebounding and second-chance opportunities to build early momentum, highlighted by Klug's fast-break layup off a John Palmer assist that briefly put the Cardinals in front.
St. Olaf responded with a barrage from beyond the arc, swinging the momentum as the Cardinals struggled to find consistency offensively.
Despite a late Palmer layup in the closing seconds of the half, Saint Mary's went into the locker room trailing 38–28.
Saint Mary's came out energized to start the second half. Weckwerth picked off a pass and set up a Harvey layup to cut into the deficit, then followed it up with a three-pointer off a Markham assist to make it a five-point game.
Each time the Cardinals closed the gap, however, the Oles had an answer to steady their lead.
Weckwerth drained another three with just over seven minutes remaining to pull Saint Mary's within four at 64–60, and Harvey continued to attack the paint, but St. Olaf's steady scoring down the stretch kept the Cardinals from completing the comeback.
The teams played an even second half, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome as St. Olaf secured the 84–74 win.
The Cardinals are back in action this Saturday, Jan. 24 traveling to take on Saint John's for a 3:00 p.m. matchup.
