COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — Saint Mary’s University men’s basketball coach Todd Landrum expected Saturday’s Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Saint John’s to be a fight to the finish.
And it was that — and then some.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it was the Johnnies who still had some punch in them in the final rounds, as SJU scored 19 of the final 29 points in the game’s final 10 minutes to outlast SMU, 66-55.
“It was a physical game and they just wore us down in the end,” said Landrum, whose Cardinals trailed by just two, 47-45, midway through the second half. “We made a run to get within two, but couldn’t get over that final hump.”
The Cardinals shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, knocking down 11 of 22 field goal attempts in taking a one-point, 31-30, advantage at the break.
The two teams continued trading punches in the second half, with
Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) draining a pair of free throws to tie the game for the 10th time, 45-45, with 12 minutes remaining in regulation.
That, however, would be as close as SMU would get, as the Johnnies use a 9-2 run to take a seven-point, 54-47 advantage and held the Cardinals off down the stretch to seal the win.
Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals, scoring 18 points and adding nine rebounds. Wright finished with 11 points, while
Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) chipped in nine. With those nine points, Holland moved within one point of 1,000 for his career.
Andrew Latzke scored a team-high 17 points for the Johnnies, while Aaron Burtzel and Todd Herman each added 12 points.
The Cardinals (5-9 MIAC, 7-12 overall) are back in action on Monday, when they return home to take on St. Thomas in a 7:30 p.m. conference contest at the SMU Gym.