Winona, Minn. – The Polars defeated the Cardinals from Saint Mary's University on Saturday 76-66.

The first half of the game was back and forth as no team had a lead greater than 9. The Cardinals led for most of the half, but the Polars kept it close as they trailed by just 3 at halftime. It was Tyler Smith doing a chunk of the scoring early, but the Polars led an extremely balanced offensive attack in the first half. The start of the second half was much like the start of the first as the teams were back and forth to start. The Polars went on a 17-2 run midway through the half and opened up a 14 point lead, which would be enough as they would not surrender the lead for the final 9.5 minutes after going on the run. Donovon Washing caught fire, hitting two straight threes during the run leading him to a season high 16 points in the game. The Cardinals did cut the lead to four with just a minute left, but the Polars made their free throws down the stretch to push the lead back to 10 to take a 76-66 victory on the road.

Donovon Washington led the team in scoring with 16, also hauling in 8 rebounds. Anthony Knight finished with 15 points, 9 assists, and 6 boards. Tyler Smith went 5-7 from the field and scored 13 points. He also had 13 rebounds. Levi Royston had 8, and Colby Deluce and Tristan Youngblood both finished with 6 points. The Polars shot 33% from three and scored 28 points off the bench. They also outscored the Cardinals 32-16 in the paint and 7-2 in fast break points.

The Polars return to action Friday, November 28 and Saturday, November 29 as they play two games in Lincoln, Nebraska over Thanksgiving break. On Friday, the play Buena Vista University at 5:00 pm. On Saturday they will play Nebraska Wesleyan University again at 5:00 pm.