NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team dropped an MIAC game on the road, losing to St. Olaf, 78-60 Saturday afternoon in the Skoglund Center. The Scots fall to 4-7 overall and 0-6 in the conference, while the Oles improve to 4-7, 2-4 MIAC.

The first half remained close, with neither team leading by more than five points. With St. Olaf ahead, 29-24 with 3:42 on the clock, Macalester went on a 10-3 run, buoyed by four points from sophomore guard Michael Gutierrez (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Prep Academy) and a three-pointer from sophomore guard Carl Salvino (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt), to lead 34-32. Free throws by Nate Albers with six seconds left made the halftime score 34-34. The Scots held the Oles to 41.4 percent shooting from the field in the half while shooting 45.8 percent.

The second half was a different story, as St. Olaf hit its first five shots from the field in building a 47-37 advantage with 15 minutes to play. Threes from Gutierrez and sophomore guard Isaac Siegel (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional) helped Macalester cut the deficit to three, 47-44. From that point, St. Olaf took control of the game by scoring the next 14 points to lead 61-44 with 7:50 remaining. The lead grew to as many as 23 points, as the Scots never came closer than 14 points the rest of the way. The Oles shot 59.3 percent from the field in the second half in outscoring Macalester, 44-26 after halftime.

Gutierrez led the Scots with 13 points, six rebounds and two assists, with senior guard Dylan Kilgour (La Crescenta, Calif./Crescenta Valley) scoring 11 points while making 3-of-4 from three-point range. Senior center Kareem Ismail (Pasadena, Calif./Flintridge Prep) grabbed a team-best nine rebounds to go with eight points, and junior guard Brett Olson (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) also had eight points. Albers paced St. Olaf with 19 points.

Macalester returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 11 with another MIAC game at Saint John's, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Collegeville, Minn.