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Saturday, December 7, 2002 |
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(Through Friday, December 6) |
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SMU picked up its first win of the season Wednesday, getting double-figure scoring from six different players en route to an 83-70 win over Hamline. … St. Olaf, meanwhile, pushed its overall record to 4-1 with an 84-71 win over Northwestern on Monday. |
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The Cardinals and Oles split their regular-season series a year ago, with St. Olaf winning the first meeting 78-72, while SMU got 23 points from Nick Michaels in an 87-84 win in the rematch. |
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SMU boasted six players in double figures vs. the Pipers, led by Lance Larson’s (Lakeville, Minn.) 20 points. … Nick Michaels (Dyer, Ind.) recorded his second-straight double-double of the season vs. Hamline, tossing in 12 points and adding 10 rebounds. … Four of SMU’s five starters are averaging in double figures, led by Larson’s 18.7 ppg average. … SMU has outscored its opponents 103-91 in the first half. … After opening the season with a 79-58 loss to Eau Claire, St. Olaf — led by Mike Ludwig (17.6 ppg) — has won four straight. |
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Senior / Forward Hometown Major |
Bob Biebel will be the first one to admit that his Saint Mary's University men's basketball team isn't perfect.
There’re chinks in their suit of armor, weaknesses that can be exploited — you just have to find them.
A balanced offensive attack isn't one of them.
Just ask Hamline.
Six of the seven Cardinals who scored against the Pipers Wednesday evening, finished in double figures — including a season-high 20 points from Lance Larson (Lakeville, Minn.) — as SMU pulled away from Hamline 83-70 for its first win in three tries this season.
“To have six players score in double figures is a huge, huge boost for us,” said Biebel. “We’ve been looking for someone to step up and take some of the load off Lance and Nick (Michaels).”
Which is exactly what they did.
Ryan Wilt (Naperville, Ill.) chipped in 14 points for the Cardinals — just missing a double-double by one rebound — while Jim Wangler (Wheaton, Ill.) finished with 13 points and Michaels (Dyer, Ind.) tallied 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Dusty Ward (Burnsville, Minn.) and Dan Kloak (Elmwood Park, Ill.) each finished with 11 points for the Cardinals, who shot 54 percent from the field (30-for-56) and turned a five-point halftime lead into a 13-point blowout by scoring a season-high 49 points in the second half.
“We needed a win like that, especially after losing a three-point and a one-point game to start the season,” said Biebel, whose team fell to UW-La Crosse 66-63 in its opener, then dropped a 63-62 heartbreaker to Benedictine. “When you play well and lose, it’s easy to start doubting yourself, wondering what you have to do to get a win.
“(Beating Hamline) took that doubt away.”
Despite finally notching that elusive first victory, Biebel wasn’t completely satisfied with his team’s performance — after all, the Cardinals did hit just 16 of 28 free throws.
“Our free throw shooting has got to improve. You can’t shoot 50 percent from the line and expect to win too many games,” said Biebel, whose team returns to conference play today, playing host to league-leading and red-hot St. Olaf. “We did a lot of good things (against Hamline) — the effort was good, the enthusiasm was there — now we just have to keep that up.
“We can’t afford any type of letdown.”