MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Macalester men's basketball team closed out the 2015-16 season with a loss to MIAC foe Concordia College, 81-58 Saturday afternoon at Memorial Auditorium. The Scots end the year 4-21 overall and 2-18 in the conference, while the Cobbers improve to 16-9, 13-7 MIAC.

Macalester started the game well, building an 18-9 lead over the first nine minutes of the first half. Junior forward Luke Poulsen (Gill, Mass./Northfield Mount Hermon) and first year guard Carl Salvino (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt) hit threes, and junior center Kareem Ismail (Pasadena, Calif./Flintridge Prep) tallied 12 points in the run. But Concordia responded by outscoring the Scots, 30-9 over the final 11 minutes of the half to lead 39-27 at halftime. Both teams shot the ball well over the first 20 minutes, with Macalester making 11-of-20 (55.0 percent) compared to 51.7 percent for the Cobbers.

In the second half, the Scots were able to pull to within eight points after a pair of free throws by first year guard Michael Gutierrez (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Prep Academy) made the score 45-37 with 14:29 to play. Concordia, which honored eight seniors before the game, put the game out of reach with a 19-6 run that included a pair of threes from Tom Fraase.

Ismail was 8-of-12 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to lead all players with 20 points. He also added five rebounds and four blocks. Gutierrez added 12 points and four assists, while senior guard Kyle Bernhard (Sleepy Hollow, Ill./Dundee-Crown) scored nine points in his final game as a Scot. Senior forward Griffin Glatt (Short Hills, N.J./Newark Academy) also played in his final collegiate contest. Jordan Bolger led Concordia with 16 points.

Looking ahead to next season, Macalester will return 16 players who saw action this year.