ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team dropped a non-conference game to the University of Northwestern, 94-69 Wednesday night in the Leonard Center. The Scots are now 1-2 on the season, while the Eagles improve to 2-1.
Northwestern jumped out to a 17-7 lead over the first four minutes of the game. Three-pointers by senior guard
Nikhil Smith (Augusta, Ga./Lakeside) and junior guards
Tyler McFarland (Denver, Colo./New Hampton School) and
Gabriel Ramos (Dorado, Puerto Rico/Tasis Dorado) sparked an 11-3 Macalester run that made it a two-point game, 20-18 midway through the half.
Later in the period, junior forward
Jackson Henningfield (Lake Mary, Fla./Lyman) hit a three to make the score 30-29 Eagles with 5:28 on the clock. Northwestern was able to push the lead back up to eight before the Scots closed out the half with a 7-4 run to trail, 43-38 at the break. Macalester held the Eagles to 40.0 percent shooting from the field in the first half while making 8-of-19 from three-point range.
The Scots cut the deficit to three points twice early in the second half, with a layup by sophomore guard
Eric Sathy (Cupertino, Calif./Homestead) bringing Macalester to within 47-44 with 18 minutes to play. Northwestern responded by scoring the next 12 points to lead 59-44 at the 16-minute mark. Twice Macalester reduced the Eagles' lead to 10, but the visitors reeled off 10 straight points for a commanding 76-56 advantage with 8:55 remaining. Baskets by Ramos and Henningfield and a three from McFarland made it a 13-point game, 76-63 with 7:25 on the clock. Again Northwestern answered, this time with an 18-9 run to close out the game.
The Eagles shot a blazing 63.6 percent from the field in the second half, including 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. The Scots turned the ball over 18 times for the game compared to 11 for Northwestern, which had just four miscues after halftime.
Henningfield recorded 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, while McFarland had 15 points and four assists. Sathy finished with 11 points, and sophomore center
Shane Anderson (Fargo, N.D./Davies) added eight points, seven boards and two blocks. Ramos turned in another solid all-around game with seven points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals. Michael Moore led Northwestern with 20 points, eight boards and five assists.
Next up for Macalester is another home non-conference game against North Central on Friday, Nov. 15. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Leonard Center.
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