WINONA, Minn. — Seven games into the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season, the future looked bright for the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team.

Fresh off back-to-back wins over Saint John's (69-56) and Hamline (85-77), the Cardinals were 5-2 in the conference and sitting in third place in the MIAC standings.

And it looked as though the Cardinals' big to make their first postseason appearance in nearly 20 years could very well become a reality.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals' path to the postseason hit a few potholes — 11 to be exact — as SMU closed out its season with just two wins in their last 13 conference games, including a disappointing 70-52 season-ending loss to St. Olaf at the SMU Gym Saturday.

After trading leads for most of the first half, the Oles finally took control, using a 14-1 run over the final 6:34 of the first half to take a 33-20 halftime advantage.

And things didn't get any better for the Cardinals in the second half, as SMU managed just 12 field goals — including a 2-for-8 effort from behind the 3-point line — and never got closer than 11 points in dropping its seventh straight.

Michael Batterman (Fond du Lac, Wis.) netted a team-high 21 points, while Terrence Smith (Broadview, Ill.) chipped in 12 points for the Cardinals (7-13 MIAC, 9-16 overall), marking the 19th time in SMU's 24 games that the Cardinal junior has scored 10 or more points.