ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester men's basketball team suffered a 75-61 defeat to Saint Mary's University in a MIAC contest Saturday afternoon in the Leonard Center. The Scots are now 3-13 overall and 1-10 in the conference, while the Cardinals improve to 6-9, 4-7 MIAC.
Saint Mary's broke open a close game with a 13-2 run in the first half to lead, 30-21 with 3:50 left in the half. A pair of baskets by junior center
Kareem Ismail (Pasadena, Calif./Flintridge Prep) and a jumper from sophomore guard
Gunnar Goeden (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North) cut the deficit to five, 32-27 at halftime. The Scots shot 37.9 percent from the field and were outrebounded, 19-13 over the first 20 minutes.
After the Cardinals started the second half with an 8-4 run to push the lead back up to nine, Macalester responded with a 10-3 run of its own to make it a two-point game, 43-41 with 12:48 on the clock. First years
Michael Gutierrez (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Prep Academy) and
Wyatt Ferm (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) both hit threes in the run. With Saint Mary's leading 45-42, Aaron Romporti hit a pair of threes to spark a 10-2 Cardinals spree for their first double-digit lead, 55-44 with 8:16 remaining. The Scots never came closer than eight points the rest of the way, as Saint Mary's completed the season sweep of Macalester.
Saint Mary's ended up with a 40-26 edge in rebounding while outscoring the Scots at the free throw line, 21-8.
Ismail led the Scots in scoring for the fourth straight game, finishing with 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. He also had four blocks, four rebounds and two assists. Ferm and Gutierrez each scored 14 points, with Ferm adding five boards and three blocks. Gutierrez and junior guard
Jordan Black-Matthews (Dallas, Tex./Covenant Christian) each had four assists. Romporti led all players with 20 points, and Quashingm Smith-Pugh tallied 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Cardinals.
Macalester continues MIAC play with a home game against Hamline University on Monday, Jan. 25. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.
