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Men's Basketball QuickFacts
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The Record: 2-7 MIAC / 2-12 Overall
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Cardinal Men's BasketballHome
(sports.smumn.edu/m_basketball)
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| Date |
Opponent |
Result |
| Nov. 22 |
UW-La Crosse |
L, 66-63 |
| Nov. 26 |
at Benedictine |
L, 63-62 |
| Dec. 4 |
at Hamline |
W, 83-70 |
| Dec. 7 |
St. Olaf |
L, 79-69 |
| Dec. 9 |
Bethel |
L, 73-62 |
| Dec. 11 |
at St. Thomas |
L, 65-45 |
| Dec. 19 |
at Regis (Colo.) |
L, 98-64 |
| Dec. 20 |
at Colorado College |
L, 74-66 |
| Jan. 4 |
St. John's |
W, 72-67 |
| Jan. 6 |
Carleton |
L, 71-60 |
| Jan. 8 |
Macalester |
L, 66-56 |
| Jan. 11 |
at Gustavus |
L, 92-57 |
| Jan. 15 |
Augsburg |
L, 71-64 |
| Jan. 18 |
UW-Eau Claire |
L, 78-50 |
| Jan. 20 |
at Concordia |
7:30 p.m. |
| Jan. 22 |
Hamline |
7:30 p.m. |
| Jan. 25 |
at St. Olaf |
1 p.m. |
| Jan. 29 |
at Bethel |
7:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 1 |
St. Thomas |
3 p.m. |
| Feb. 3 |
at St. John's |
7:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 5 |
at Carleton |
7:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 8 |
at Macalester |
3 p.m. |
| Feb. 9 |
Concordia |
3 p.m. |
| Feb. 12 |
Gustavus |
7:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 15 |
at Augsburg |
3 p.m. |
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Half a game here, half a game there not enough as streak hits 5
WINONA, Minn. — For 20 minutes, the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team stood toe-to-toe with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
The Cardinals matched the Blugolds nearly shot-for-shot in the opening half of Saturday's nonconference game at the SMU gym — the Blugolds knocked down 10 field goals, while the Cardinals settled for nine.
And when the halftime buzzer sounded, the Cardinals were trailing by a meager one point, 28-27.
Unfortunately, there are two halves in the game of basketball — and what a second half the Blugolds had.
UW-Eau Claire erupted for 50 second-half points — matching the Cardinals' offensive output for the entire game — as the Blugolds cruised to a 78-50 nonconference victory.
And so the week went for the Cardinals.
On Wednesday, it was a first-half hibenatrion that cost SMU, which fell behind 27-22 against Augsburg, and was never able to make up that deficit in falling 71-64.
"We played hard (in both games), but we weren't consistent for 40 minutes — and we didn't make the big shots when we needed them," said SMU coach Bob Biebel, whose team saw its losing streak climb to five straight. "I thought we played pretty well, but we had a few situations in both games where we needed a big basket, and we couldn't come up with it."
Against Augsburg on Wednesday, it was free throws that did SMU in, as the Cardinals sent the Auggies to the foul line 26 times (with Augsburg making 18), while SMU shot just three free throws — making all three.
"We can't keep sending teams to the line like that," said Biebel, whose team has taken fewer trips to the free-throw line in 13 of its 14 games this season. "We sent (Augsburg) to the line, and they did their job — they made the shots when they had to.
"It seems like every game, we do some things very well, but there is always something that comes back to haunt us."
Against the Blugolds, it wasn't any one thing that came back to haunt the Cardinals — it was a little of everything.
After giving UW-Eau Claire all it could handle in the first half, the Cardinals (2-12 overall) shot just 28 percent from the field in the second half (7-for-25), and were just 6 of 12 from the free-throw line, while UW-Eau Claire sizzled from the floor (17-for-28, 61 percent) and the foul line (10-for-16) in cruising to the lopsided victory.
"Eau Claire is a very, very good team — we knew that coming in, and they didn't disappoint," said Biebel. "We've just got to regroup and get back at it."
* THIS AND THAT: Jim Wangler (Wheaton, Ill.) was held to just nine points vs. UW-Eau Claire, snapping the freshman's streak of four straight games scoring in double figures and three straight games as SMU's leading scorer. … Wangler scored a career-high 27 points vs. Augsburg last Wednesday. … The 50 points SMU scored vs. UW-Eau Claire was its second-lowest offensive output of the season. … SMU's current five-game losing streak is its second five-game slide of the season. … Nick Michaels (Dyer, Ind.) and Lance Larson (Lakeville, Minn.) share the team scoring lead, averaging 12.6 ppg apiece. … Wangler is also averaging in double figures at 12.1 ppg. … Ryan Wilt (Naperville, Ill.) picked up his first double-double of the season vs. Augsburg, scoring 10 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. … SMU's game vs. UW-Eau Claire was the first meeting between the two teams since the 1961-62 season, in which SMU beat the Blugolds 69-60. The two teams have now played 17 times, with UW-EC holding a 12-5 advantage.
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