Live Broadcast | GameDay notes (pdf) | Saint Mary's Release | MIAC Release (pdf)
Carleton puts their playoff hopes on the line this week against two squads who are in the race for the final two MIAC playoff positions. The Knights travel to Winona tonight to take on the Saint Mary's Cardinals and on Saturday afternoon they play their cross-town rivals, St. Olaf, in a battle for the Goat Trophy.
The Knights emphatically ended their four-game losing streak on Monday night with a 98-61 thrashing of Hamline. Tommy Drake led the way with 23 points and Jake Phillips added 16 points and eight assists in the victory.
Game #22: Carleton (8-13, 7-9 MIAC) at Saint Mary's (7-13, 6-10 MIAC)
Wednesday, February 7 • 5:45 p.m. • SMU Gym
Radio: Power 96 (95.9 FM)
Internet Audio: www.carleton.edu/athletics/broadcasts
All-time series: Knights lead 40-7
Last Meeting: Carleton 77 Saint Mary's 49 on Jan. 10, 2007
Leaders
Pts CAR: Johnson 17.8 SMU: Haywood 13.3
Rebs CAR: Rosett 6.4 SMU: Cormier 6.4
Ast CAR: Phillips 4.3 SMU: Haywood 3.7
Scouting the Cardinals:
Saint Mary's rollercoaster season had them eyeing a possible MIAC playoff bid before two straight losses has put those sights in serious doubt. The Cardinals had a stretch of five straight losses followed by four victories in five games before falling to St. Olaf and Gustavus earlier this week.
After some midseason roster shuffling, the Cardinals appear to have found their groove, despite the recent losses. Head coach Mike Trewick believes if the Cardinals can run the table, beginning tonight against the Knights, that they will qualify for the MIAC playoffs for the first time since 1983-84.
The Cards are led by senior guard Brensley Haywood. Haywood is leading the team in both points, steals and assists, averaging 13.3 points and 3.7 assists per game. Haywood was an All-MIAC honorable mention selection last season, and he is likely to duplicate those honors this year.
On the interior, Saint Mary's is led by Dan Cormier. The junior post player was shut down in the first game against the Knights but he is averaging a team-leading 6.4 boards along with 12.2 points a game. His complement in the paint is Michael Batterman, a senior who is scoring 8.0 points per game this season.
The Knights twins, Brad and Josh, have moved into the starting lineup for the Cardinals. Both freshmen, the duo start at the shooting guard and small forward positions. Josh Knights is averaging 5.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, while Brad is posting 4.2 points and 1.6 rebounds a contest.
The Cardinal bench is extremely thin with the loss of Terrence Smith and Alex Washington, two starters, earlier this season. Mikey Sweeney and John Gencius are the two most significant contributors off the bench, as each guard is averaging over 16 minutes a game. Sophomore forward Nick Carr has come on strong as of late, posting an average of seven points per game in his last three outings.
Earlier this season
at Northfield: W, 77-49
Tommy Drake scored 22 points and added 11 rebounds and Zach Johnson added 19 points, eight steals and six rebounds as Carleton emphatically took down Saint Mary’s, 77-49.
Jake Phillips added 11 points and seven assists for the Knights. Carleton shot 57 percent from the floor in building a 42-24 halftime lead and connected on 50 percent of its shots overall for the game.
