ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team snapped a 14-game losing streak with a 71-60 triumph over visiting Augsburg College Wednesday night in the Leonard Center. The Scots earned the win in the final home game of the season to improve to 4-20 overall and 2-17 in the conference. The Auggies, who entered the game in a three-way tie for fifth place in the MIAC standings, drop to 15-9, 10-9 MIAC.

Midway through the first half, Macalester used three-pointers from first years Carl Salvino (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt) and Wyatt Ferm (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) to reel off a 12-0 run and take a 26-16 lead with 7:30 on the clock. The Scots pushed the lead up to 11 before Augsburg outscored Macalester, 6-2 over the final two minutes of the half to make the halftime score 35-28. Ferm poured in 14 points and first year guard Michael Gutierrez (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Prep Academy) added 10 points in the first half.

For most of the second half, the Scots stayed in control, leading by as many as 10 points, 53-43 with eight minutes to play. Collin Olmscheid and Harry Sonie each hit threes to spark a 12-4 Augsburg run that made the score 57-55 Macalester with 2:45 remaining. But the Scots recorded four consecutive stops on the defensive end while scoring the next nine points to lead 66-55 and put the game out of reach.

Macalester out-rebounded the Auggies, 42-27 and shot 49.1 percent for the game compared to 34.5 percent for Augsburg. Ferm led the way with 20 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Gutierrez hit three of Macalester's seven threes en route to 19 points, five boards and three assists. Junior center Kareem Ismail (Pasadena, Calif./Flintridge Prep) registered a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, while junior guard Jordan Black-Matthews (Dallas, Tex./Covenant Christian) contributed eight points, six boards, three assists and four steals. Olmscheid led the Auggies with 19 points.

The victory also came in the final home game for seniors Kyle Bernhard (Sleepy Hollow, Ill./Dundee-Crown) and Griffin Glatt (Summit, N.J./Newark Academy).

Macalester concludes the 2015-16 season with a league game at Concordia College on Saturday, Feb. 20. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. in Moorhead, Minn.