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2005-2006 Records:
4-2 MIAC / 6-5 Overall
Recent Results:
Saint Mary's 71, Bethel 69 / Details
Gustavus 78, Saint Mary's 42 / Details
Saint Mary's 69, Saint John's 56 / Details
Upcoming Events:
Wed., Jan. 11: Hamline at SMU, 8 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 14: SMU at St. Thomas, 3:15 p.m.
Cardinal News and Notes:
Saturday's 69-56 win over Saint John's marked the first coaching victory for SMU coach Mike Trewick against his former team. SJU beat the Cardinals twice in Trewick's first season a year ago. … The win over the Johnnies was also SMU's six, surpassing the Cardinals' win total of a year ago. …  Michael Rohr (Bloomingdale, Ill.) and Michael Batterman (Fond du Lac, Wis.) gave SMU a double-double of double-doubles vs. the Johnnies, as Rohr netted 17 points and added 11 rebounds, while Batterman scored 10 points and added 10 rebounds. … It was Rohr's first double-double of the season. … John Gencius (Chicago, Ill.) tallied a season-high 13 points vs. the Johnnies. … Rohr, who scored a season-high 20 points in the Cardinals' win over Bethel last Monday, led the team in scoring last week, averaging 14.0 ppg. … SMU's 16 first-half points and 42 total points in Wednesday's loss to Gustavus were season-lows. … The Cardinals failed to have a player reach double figures in scoring for the first time all season vs. GAC. … SMU’s loss to Gustavus snapped its two-game winning streak and marked the first time in four games that the Cardinals lost on their home floor. With Saturday's win, SMU is now 4-1 at home.
Cardinals' gift-wrap Trewick's first win vs. former
team with big 2nd half in 69-56 win over St. John's


Who's Hot?

Michael
Rohr

14 ppg last 3
games; 1st
double-double
WINONA, Minn. — On paper, the similarities were mind-boggling:

* The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team entered last Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Saint John's with a 3-2 MIAC record and a 5-5 overall mark. So did the Johnnies.

* The Cardinals were coming off their worst offensive showing of the season, managing a season-low 42 points in a 78-42 setback to Gustavus on Wednesday. SJU entered the game on the heels of a season-worst 41 points in an 82-41 loss to St. Thomas.

* SMU boasted a 3-1 record on its home court — the same as Saint John's.

* Michael Batterman (Fond du Lac, Wis.) carried a team-leading 12.3 ppg average into Saturday's game — equalled by SJU's scoring leaders Paul Henrichs and Tyler Westman.

Once on the court, however, the similarities stopped — especially in the second half.

The Cardinals scored 46 second-half points, including 11 from Michael Rohr (Bloomingdale, Ill.) and 10 from John Gencius (Chicago, Ill.), as SMU erased a six-point halftime deficit and beat the Johnnies 69-56 at the SMU Gym.

"This is a nice win, both for the team and for myself," said SMU coach Mike Trewick, who picked up his first win against the Johnnies, a team he spent nine seasons as an assistant for under SJU legendary head coach Jim Smith, before accepting the SMU position a year ago. "I kind of equate it to a young kid playing one-on-one against his dad in the driveway. The child always strives to beat his dad, and that's the way this win feels to me.

"It's great to be able to get that first win (against Saint John's), but it's also a little bittersweet in that Jim has done so much to advance my coaching career that you can't help but feel a little bad about beating him."

Trewick may feel bad about beating his former team, but the Cardinals certainly didn't.

After trailing through most of the first half — including a 29-23 deficit at the break — the Cardinals turned up the heat in the second half, taking the lead for good, 32-31, on a Rohr layup less than three minutes into the second half. SMU built a lead of nine, 47-38, midway through the half, but a 9-2 SJU run cut that cushion to one, 50-49, with 7:29 remaining.

"Our guys stuck with it all day. When (Saint John's) made that run to cut the lead to one, we didn't panic, we just continued to play our game," said Trewick, whose team used a 10-1 run of its own to take a 60-50 advantage and ice the win. "We had some guys step up and knock down some big shots for us, and that's what we need if we are going to be successful."

Rohr finished with a game-high 17 points and added 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Michael Batterman (Fond du Lac, Wis.) gave SMU a double-double of double-doubles, scoring 10 points and tallying 10 rebounds, while Gencius chipped in season-high 13 points.

"This was a good week for us," said Trewick, whose team went 2-1 last week — also beating Bethel, 71-68, on Monday, while falling to Gustavus 78-42 on Wednesday. "Hopefully it's a sign of things to come."