WINONA, Minn. — The search continues.

Last Monday against Carleton, the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team couldn't make a free throw to save its life, and it cost them in a 71-60 loss to the Knights.

Last Wednesday against Macalester, the Cardinals' ice-cold shooting from beyond the 3-point line was their undoing in a 66-56 setback.

And Saturday, the search for that complete game continued as the Cardinals struggled in all facets of the game as Gustavus erupted for 55 first-half points and rolled to a 92-57 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.

"If you look at the box score, we had the same amount of shots (as Gustavus) in the first half, and we had the same amount of shots in the second half — the difference was, (Gustavus) knocked down their shots, we didn't," said SMU coach Bob Biebel. "We took some rather low percentage shots, and their pressure gave us some trouble.

"It was just one of those games where nothing seemed to go right for us."

SMU's offense struggled from the get-go, shooting just 29 percent from the field in the first half (9-for-31), made just 2 of 8 3-pointers and equaled that output from the free-throw line as the Gusties streaked out to a 55-22 halftime advantage.

The Cardinals (2-6 MIAC, 2-10 overall) regrouped a bit in the second half, scoring 35 points on 11 of 29 shooting from the field and an 11-for-15 effort from the free throw line, but the damage was already done as GAC handed SMU its third straight loss.

"I thought we played a little better in the second half, but we still struggled," said Biebel, noting that injuries and illness have also slowed the Cardinals, who played Gustavus without several key players. "We're pretty banged up right now — we need to get healthy, and fast."

Jim Wangler (Wheaton, Ill.) was the lone Cardinal to score in double figures, finishing with 11 points. Derek Nelson, meanwhile, scored a game-high 22 points in leading four Gustie players in double figures.

"The big thing for us right now is to remember that there's still a ton of basketball to be played," said Biebel, whose team returns to its home floor for back-to-back games against Augsburg (Wednesday) and UW-Eau Claire (Saturday). "We've got to put the past behind us and continue to go out there and battle every day."

* THIS AND THAT: SMU's 0-3 week not only has the Cardinals in the midst of a three-game losing streak, but they have also dropped eight of their last nine. … The 92 points Gustavus scored last Saturday were the second-most points given up by the Cardinals this season (Regis scored 98 in a 98-64 nonconference win on Dec. 19). … Both of SMU's wins this season have been conference wins. … The Cardinals have three players averaging in double figures — Lance Larson (Lakeville, Minn. / 13.9 ppg), Nick Michaels (Dyer, Ind. / 12.9 ppg) and Jim Wangler (Wheaton, Ill. / 11.2 ppg). … Wangler was the only Cardinal to score in double figures in all three of SMU's games last week (12 ponts vs. Carleton, 16 points vs. Macalester and 11 vs. Gustavus). … The Cardinals were outscored 117-78 in the first half of their three games last week, and have been outscored 413-355 in the opening half all season.