By ALEX NUEHRING
Saint Mary's Sports Information Intern
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team had two things going for them as they prepared to face St. Olaf.
 
• First, the Cardinals had earned five of their last seven wins on their home court.
 
• Second, the Cardinals were on that home court on Wednesday, hosting the Oles after playing their last two Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games on the road.
 
Unfortunately, against sharp-shooting team as red-hot from the field as St. Olaf was, those little advantages just weren't enough.
 
The Oles, who shot 64.5 percent from the field and knocked down seven 3-pointers in the first half of the teams' first meeting earlier this season, did that performance one better Wednesday, draining 20 of their 30 first-half field goal attempts—including eight 3-pointers—in rolling to an 82-59 victory at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
St. Olaf stole the ball on the Cardinals' first possession and kicked off the game on a 15-0 run.
 
The Cardinals used a three-point play from David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn.), back-to-back 3-pointers by Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill.) and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Il.), and a layup by Hill to cut the deficit to 11, 24-13 with 11:52 remaining in the opening half.
 
Yet, just when the Cardinals appeared to hit their stride, the Oles would answer, going on a 7-0 run to make it 31-13.  Saint Mary's again cut into the St. Olaf lead with an 8-2 burst with 3:45 remaining, but St. Olaf closed the half scoring 10 of the final 15 points to take a commanding 53-30 lead into halftime.
 
St. Olaf used another half-opening run—this one 10-3, capped by a 3-pointer from Nate Albers—to pad their lead to 63-33 with 13:13 remaining.
 
And the Cardinals never recovered.
 
Lindstrand led the Cardinals with 14 points and three rebounds, while Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) added 11 points.
 
The Oles were led by a trio of player who scored in double figures—Albers finished with a team- and game-high 19 points, while Austin Korba netted 15 points and four rebounds, and Sam Stensgard chipped in 13 points.
 
The Cardinals (0-12 MIAC, 1-16 overall) are back in action on Saturday—once again on their home court—hosting Augsburg in a 1 p.m. MIAC contest.