Photos of Concordia game / Click here

WINONA, Minn. — To Saint Mary's University men's basketball coach Mike Trewick the difference between Saturday's 66--56 loss to Macalester and Sunday's 81-60 win over Concordia is crystal clear.

The Cardinals just play better at home.

Twenty-four hours after Macalester used a 19-5 run over the game's final six minutes to hand the Cardinals that 10-point, 66-56 loss, the Cardinals put on an offensive show for the home fans, shooting 58 percent from the field — including 12 3-pointers — en route to their fourth 80-plus point performance of the season.

The win was the seventh in nine home contests for the Cardinals (7-6 MIAC, 9-9 overall), whose nine wins are the most since the 1999-2000 season, when SMU went 11-13. In contrast, the Cardinals are a meager 2-7 away from the SMU Gym.

The Cardinals let the Cobbers hang around in the first half, as SMU built leads as big as 11, 22-11, before settling for a 10-point, 35-25 halftime advantage. SMU took over in the second half, connecting on 18 of 25 shots from the field. The Cardinals' lead ballooned to as many as 26, 71-45 — thanks in part of a 5-for-7 showing from beyond the 3-point line – and SMU cruised to its seventh MIAC win in 13 games.

Michael Batterman (Fond du Lac, Wis.) led the Cardinals' offensive juggernaut, scoring a game-high 18 points, while Mike Sweeney (St. Paul, Minn.), fueled by five 3-points, chipped in 15 points, and Brensley Haywood (Joliet, Ill.) and Terrence Smith (Broadview, Ill.) added 11 and 10 points, respectively.