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04-05 Record: 1-7 MIAC / 2-11 Overall
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| Last Week's Results: Saint Mary's 83, Hamline 72 / Details St. Thomas 70, Saint Mary's 41 / Details |
| This Week's Games: Mon., Jan. 17: Saint Mary's at Carleton, 7:30 p.m. Wed., Jan. 19: St. Olaf at Saint Mary's, 7:30 p.m. Sun., Jan. 23: Saint Mary's at Concordia, 3 p.m. |
| This and That: The Cardinals had a season-high four players score in double figures in Wednesday's 83-72 win over Hamline, led by Brenlsey Haywood (Joliet, Ill.) and Eric Lear (Antioch, Ill.), who each scored 15 points. … SMU's win vs. Hamline snapped the Cardinals' six-game MIAC losing streak. … The Cardinals made 38 of 49 free throws — both season-highs — vs. the Pipers. … The Cardinals' 83 points scored vs. Hamline were a season high, while their 41 vs. UST were their second fewest. … Both of the Cardinals wins this season have come on the road. … Dan Kloak (Elmwood Park, Ill. / 13.7 ppg) and Lear (12.3 ppg) are both averaging in double figures. |
WINONA, Minn. — Heading into last Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against St. Thomas, Saint Mary's University men's basketball coach Mike Trewick said the game plan was simple: Play solid defense and make their shots.
"If we do that," he said. "We can play with anybody."
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they learned firsthand what happens when they don't follow that plan to the letter.
SMU missed 19 of its first 25 shots and the Tommies took advantage, erupting for 41 first-half points and cruising to the 70-41 win at the SMU Gym.
"We knew what we had to do coming in, and we didn't do it — it's that simple," said Trewick. "You can't shoot 22 percent from the field against a team like St. Thomas and expect to win. Heck, you aren't going to beat too many teams in this league shooting 22 percent from the field."
And while the Cardinals' shooting touch was ice-cold, the Tommies were red-hot. UST — winners of 34 straight games against the Cardinals — shot 47 percent from the field (22-for-47) en route to their sixth consecutive win.
The Tommies, who led from start to finish, got 15 points from Joey Shimek and 14 points and 17 rebounds from Isaac Rosefelt. SMU, meanwhile, managed just one double-figure scorer, Dan Kloak (Elmwood Park, Ill.), who finished with 15 points.
"We had four people in double figures on Wednesday (in an 83-72 victory over Hamline), and (Saturday) we only had one score more than six points," said Trewick. "We never got into a rhythm offensively, we made a lot of bad decisions and we missed a lot of shots we shouldn't be missing.
"St. Thomas is a very, very good basketball team — the best in the league, hands down," added Trewick. "We're playing a lot of young players, and that's certainly no excuse for our performance, but hopefully they learned a thing or two out there.
"If you are going to be competitive in this league, you've got to play good defense, which we didn't, and you've got to knock down your shots, which we didn't.