COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team lost an MIAC game at Saint John's University, 78-55 Wednesday evening in Sexton Arena. The Scots are now 4-8 overall and 0-7 in the conference, while the Johnnies improve to 9-3, 5-2 MIAC.

Saint John's took control of the game early in the first half, outscoring Macalester, 23-4 over the first 11 minutes. The Scots scored the next three baskets to cut the deficit to 23-10 with six minutes left in the half, but the Johnnies closed out the period with a 19-10 run to take a 42-20 lead into halftime. Saint John's shot 53.6 percent from the field in the first half, including six three-pointers, while holding Macalester to 33.3 percent shooting.

In the second half, the Johnnies pushed the lead to as many as 31 points, as the Scots never came closer than 22 points the rest of the way. Sophomore guard Michael Gutierrez (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Prep Academy) scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and hit three of the Scots' five three-pointers after halftime.

Senior center Kareem Ismail (Pasadena, Calif./Flintridge Prep) tallied 10 points and five rebounds, while senior guard Dylan Kilgour (La Crescenta, Calif./Crescenta Valley) scored nine points. Tyler Weiss was 8-of-11 from the field en route to 21 points to lead Saint John's.

Macalester continues MIAC play with a home game against Hamline on Saturday, Jan. 14. Game time is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.