WINONA, Minn. — After leading for a majority of the game, Saint Mary's (1-18, 0-10) men's basketball dropped an 83–75 conference matchup to Carleton College (11-8, 7-3) on Wednesday night at David R. Thies Arena. The Cardinals knocked down 15 three-pointers, but Carleton's edge at the free-throw line and inside the paint proved to be the difference.

Three Cardinals led the way with 16 points, Sawyer Markham, Reid Weckwerth and Jackson Harvey. Markham drilled four shots from long range and adding three steals. Weckwerth also finished with 16 points, connecting on four three-pointers of his own. John Palmer chipped in nine points, buried three triples, and paced the team with six assists, while Reid Klug added 14 points and eight rebounds.

Saint Mary's came out firing, as Markham opened the scoring with a three-pointer just 30 seconds into the game off a Klug assist. Palmer followed with a pair of early triples to help the Cardinals build momentum. 

Carleton answered but Saint Mary's continued to keep pace with strong perimeter shooting where they shot 44-percent from long.

Midway through the half, Weckwerth and Klug added key buckets in the paint to stretch the lead, and despite a late push from the Knights, the Cardinals carried a slim 41–39 advantage into halftime.

Saint Mary's looked to pull away early in the second half, sparked by a Markham layup and a Weckwerth three that pushed the lead to 50–44. Palmer later hit another three to extend the margin to 65–56, but Carleton responded with a rally. 

The Knights regained the lead for the first time with just over six minutes remaining and closed out the game from there, handing the Cardinals an 83–75 setback.

The Cardinals ran out of gas and were swept by the Knights in conference action. They look to continue their home stand this Saturday, Jan. 31 hosting the Royals of Bethel for a 3:00 p.m. game time.