ST. PAUL, Minn. – First year players accounted for 43 of Macalester's 66 points, as the Scots fell to Carleton College, 73-66 Wednesday evening in the Leonard Center. The MIAC defeat drops Macalester to 3-20 overall and 1-17 in the league, while the Knights improve to 13-9, 10-7 MIAC.

Carleton took control of the game in the first half in building a 24-11 lead over the first 11:28. But the Scots' first year players responded, as guards Michael Gutierrez (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Prep Academy), Carl Salvino (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt) and Isaac Siegel (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional) tallied 15 points in an 18-6 Macalester run that made the halftime score 30-29 Carleton. Salvino hit three three-pointers in the run and finished the half with 11 points.

The Knights regained control in the second half, extending their lead to as many as 13 with the help of five threes from Mitchell Biewen for a 60-47 edge with 7:45 to play. This time it was Siegel's turn to get the Scots back in the game, as he drained a pair of threes to spark a 12-1 run and cut the deficit to two, 61-59 with four minutes on the clock. Gutierrez also hit one from deep in the run. But Biewen made his sixth three-pointer of the half as Carleton scored the next eight points to push the lead back up to 10, 69-59 and put the game out of reach.

Gutierrez paced the Scots with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Salvino had 11 points. Siegel, who had played a total of seven minutes over four games prior to Wednesday, contributed nine points in 13 minutes off the bench. First year forward Wyatt Ferm (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) tallied eight points, five boards, four assists and two blocks. Biewen finished with 20 points and Tianen Chen had 16 points for Carleton.

Macalester continues MIAC play with a home game against Augsburg College on Wednesday, Feb. 17. The opening tip is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.