Last Action: The Cardinals dropped their second straight game of the new year on Wednesday, falling to Gustavus 74-57. … St. John’s, meanwhile, was not match for league-leading St. Thomas Wednesday, as the Johnnies came out on the short end of a 72-43 decision.

Last Meeting: The Cardinals got a career-high 24 points from Dan Kloak — including 19 in the second half when he went 5-for-5 from the field and 9-for-10 from the free throw line — and scored a season-high 54 second-half points in handing the Johnnies an 83-76 setback on Feb. 16, 2004.

This and That:

Eric Lear Team-leading 14.1 ppg avg.

Michael Batterman (Fond du Lac, Wis.) scored a team-high 13 points in the Cardinals’ loss to Gustavus. … Eric Lear (Antioch, Wis.) has scored in double figures in each of the last seven games and currently leads the Cardinals in scoring, averaging 14.1 ppg. … Dan Kloak (Elmwood, Ill.) is also averaging in double figures for SMU (13.2 ppg), while Paul Henrichs’ 15.2 ppg average is tops for SJU. … Today’s game is just the second road game for the Johnnies, who opened the season with a 62-59 loss at UW-River Falls, then played their next nine games at home, going 4-5.