ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester men's basketball team won an exciting MIAC game with Gustavus Adolphus, 68-63 Friday night in the Leonard Center. The victory snaps a four-game losing streak for the Scots, who are now 3-6 overall and 1-3 in the conference. The Gusties fall to 3-4, 1-3 MIAC.

Trailing by as many as 14 points in the second half, Gustavus battled back to take a 63-62 edge with a minute remaining. On Macalester's next possession, first year guard Michael Gutierrez (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Prep Academy) found junior guard Jordan Black-Matthews (Dallas, Tex./Covenant Christian) on a back door cut. Black-Matthews hit the layup with 38 seconds on the clock for a 64-63 advantage. The Gusties came up empty on the other end, and Gutierrez and first year forward Wyatt Ferm (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) hit their free throws to wrap up the win.

Macalester started out hot in search of its first MIAC win of the season, jumping out to a 19-6 lead over the first 6:28 of the game. The Scots led by as many as 18 points before taking a 41-27 advantage into the halftime break. Gutierrez scored 13 points and senior guard Kyle Bernhard (Sleepy Hollow, Ill./Dundee-Crown) added 10 points for Macalester in the first half.

The lead was 10 midway through the second half when Gustavus mounted a comeback, reeling off an 18-7 run capped by a basket from Sergio Najera that put the Gusties on top, 63-62. But Black-Matthews' basket in the final minute of play proved to be the difference, as the Scots earned their first league victory of the season.

Gutierrez finished with 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. Bernhard also made 3-of-6 from beyond the arc to finish with 13 points, while Ferm added 14 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Black ended up with 11 points and six boards, and junior center Kareem Ismail (Pasadena, Calif./Flintridge Prep) contributed nine points, five rebounds and three blocks.

Macalester's next game is on Jan. 2 at Bethel.