WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University men's basketball coach Mark Lovelace said after last Wednesday's 58-55 loss to Hamline that his team was getting closer — they weren't' there yet, but they were getting closer.

Problem is, close just doesn't translate into "W's" in the win column.

And that's exactly where the Cardinals found themselves again last Saturday against St. Olaf — close, but not close enough.

SMU held a one-point, 48-47 advantage with 5:51 remaining in regulation vs. the Oles. From there, however, St. Olaf rattled off 12 of the next 13 points to take a commanding 58-49 advantage en route to a 65-56 MIAC victory at the SMU Gym.

"We were not very focused (vs. St. Olaf)," said Lovelace. "The guys worked hard, but they weren't focused.

"And when you are in the situation we are in, playing a lot of freshmen, there's not a lot of room for error — we can't afford to come into games not mentally ready to play."

Todd Yankowski (Chicago, Ill.) Jimmy Wajda (Minneapolis, Minn.) and John Gencius (Chicago, Ill.) all scored 10 points for the Cardinals, who are still searching for their first win in falling to 0-4 overall and 0-2 in the MIAC. Matt Schlenker netted a game-high 18 points and Jon Butala chipped in 12 for the Oles, who evened their conference record at 1-1 (2-1 overall) with the win.

"Once we got that lead (48-47), there were five straight possessions — either offensively or defensively — where we made a mental mistake that cost us," said Lovelace. "And suddenly that one-point lead turned into a seven-point deficit and we just never recoevered again."

Neither team shot exceptionally well in the first half, as St. Olaf hit just 11 of 28 field goal opportunities — including just 1 of 6 from beyond the 3-point line, while SMU was 7-for-19 from the field.

St. Olaf picked things up in the second half, knocking down 11 of 25 field goal attempts and making 12 of 23 from the free-throw line, but the Cardinals remained ice cold, shooting 35 percent (11-for-31) over the game's final 20 minutes.

"This season is a learning experience — for the players, and for the coaching staff," said Lovelace. "It's no fun to lose, but if we can take something positive from each game and keep building on them, hopefully the wins will come, too."