WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's men's basketball team (1-19, 0-11) came up short in a 77–58 loss to Bethel (9-11, 6-5) on Saturday at David R. Thies Arena, despite owning the glass with a 36–rebound effort and a strong early start.

Reid Weckwerth led the Cardinals with 17 points, knocking down three triples and going a perfect from the free-throw line. Reid Klug followed with 16 points on efficient shooting while adding three assists, and Jackson Harvey flirted with a double-double, posting nine points and 10 rebounds. John Palmer chipped in seven points and six boards.

The Cardinals came out firing. Weckwerth opened the scoring with a three-pointer off a Harvey assist and stayed hot early, pushing Saint Mary's to a 12–2 lead midway through the first half. Bethel regrouped after a timeout and slowly clawed back, tying the game at 16–16.

Saint Mary's briefly regained the edge on a Harvey jumper, but Bethel closed the half with a fast-break bucket at the buzzer, sending the Cardinals into the locker room trailing 28–26.

The second half opened with Klug finding Harvey for a layup to even things up, but Bethel soon found its rhythm. The Royals capitalized on turnovers and controlled the paint to build separation, even as Klug continued to attack the rim and get to the line.

Palmer sparked a brief push with a three-pointer midway through the half, but Bethel answered right back and kept the pressure on down the stretch. Despite the Cardinals' effort on the boards and flashes of offensive momentum, the Royals maintained control to close out the game.

The Cardinals will be back in action, next Saturday, Feb. 7 traveling to St. Olaf for a 3:00 p.m. tip off.