ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team suffered a narrow defeat to MIAC foe Carleton College, 62-59 Wednesday night at West Gym. The Scots fall to 4-4 overall and 0-3 in the conference with the loss, while the Knights improve to 4-3, 1-2 MIAC.

In the first half, Macalester broke open a close game with an 11-2 run to lead 39-28 with a minute left in the half. Junior guard Brett Olson (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) hit a three-pointer and had five points in the run, as the Scots took a 39-32 advantage into halftime. Olson scored a team-high 10 points in the first half, as Macalester made all 10 of its free throws compared to 1-of-6 at the line for Carleton.

The Knights built momentum in the second half, opening with a 17-3 spree capped by a three-pointer from Peter Bakker-Arkema to take the lead, 49-42. The Scots came within one, 54-53 following a three by sophomore guard Michael Gutierrez (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Prep Academy) at the 6:44 mark. But the Knights kept the upper hand, eventually taking a 61-57 edge with 2:28 on the clock.

The score did not change until senior guard Dylan Kilgour (La Crescenta, Calif./Crescenta Valley) hit two free throws to make it a two-point game, 61-59 with 35 seconds to play. On the next possession, senior guard Jordan Black-Mathews (Dallas, Texas./Covenant Christian) stole the ball and was fouled, but he came up empty at the free throw line. The Scots got the ball back again, but an offensive foul turned it over to the hosts with six seconds remaining. Carleton missed both of its free throws after a foul, but Kevin Grow grabbed the rebound with 1.6 seconds left. The Knights made 1-of-2 at the line, and a desperation shot was off the mark at the buzzer.

After shooting 50.0 percent from the field in the first half, Macalester was 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) in the second half compared to 46.2 percent for Carleton. Gutierrez led all players with 17 points to go with four rebounds and two assists. Olson finished with 12 points, while senior center Kareem Ismail (Pasadena, Calif./Flintridge Prep) tallied eight points, eight rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard Isaac Siegel (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional) added eight points. Mitchell Biewen paced the Knights with 14 points, while Grow had 10 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Macalester hosts Bethel Univeristy in another MIAC game on Friday, Dec. 9, beginning at 7:45 p.m. in the Leonard Center.