NEW ULM, Minn. — It took a little while to find their rhythm, but once they did, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team was unstoppable.
 
The Cardinals, clinging to a four-point lead midway through the first half of their season-opening nonconference game against Martin Luther, closed the half on a 24-16 run—and scored 25 of the first 34 points of the second half in rolling to an 84-50 win over the Knights Tuesday evening.
 
Cole Kruger (Hayfield, Minn.), playing in his first game in a Cardinal uniform, led the Saint Mary's offensive attack, pouring in a game-high 17 points, with Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) and Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) each chipping in double-doubles—Ferron's a 14-point, 11-rebound effort, while Smith-Pugh recorded 11 points and 11 boards—and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) added 10 points.
 
The Cardinals used that 24-16 half-ending run to hold a 12-point, 42-30, lead at halftime, before breaking the game open by scoring the first eight points—and 25 of the first 34—in outscoring the host Knights 42-20 over the game's final 20 minutes.
 
As a team, the Cardinals shot 48 percent from the field (29-for-60)—including 10 3-pointers—and finished 16-for-27 from the free throw line. Martin Luther, meanwhile, netted just 14 field goals, including a 1-for-12 effort from behind the arc, and drained 21 of 34 free throws.
 
The Cardinals (1-0 overall) are back in action on Monday, traveling across town to Winona State's McCown Gym for a 7 p.m. exhibition game against the NCAA Division II Warriors.