ST. PAUL, Minn. – Balanced scoring and solid defense helped the Macalester College men's basketball team to a 72-56 victory over visiting Northland College in the season opener for both teams Friday night in the Leonard Center. Junior forward Jackson Henningfield (Lake Mary, Fla./Lyman) led the Scots with 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Five three-pointers early in the first half, including two apiece from sophomore guard Eric Sathy (Cupertino, Calif./Homestead) and junior guard Tyler McFarland (Denver, Colo./New Hampton School), put Macalester on top, 21-8 nine minutes into the game. Later in the half, back-to-back threes from Sathy and senior guard Nikhil Smith (Augusta, Ga./Lakeside) extended the lead to 31-13. The advantage grew to as many as 22 points before the Lumberjacks scored the final four points of the half to make the score 43-25 Scots at the break. Macalester was 9-of-18 from three-point range in the first half while holding Northland to 28.6 percent shooting from the field.

In the second half, Macalester maintained the upper hand, using an 18-7 run to open the half and expand the gap to 29 points, 61-32. A layup by Henningfield at the 11:34 mark gave the Scots their largest lead of the game, 65-35. The Lumberjacks outscored Macalester, 21-7 the rest of the way, but the damage had been done and the Scots won their season opener for the second year in a row.

All five starters scored in double figures for Macalester, led by Henningfield's 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. Junior guard Gabriel Ramos (Dorado, Puerto Rico/Tasis Dorado) was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and finished with 14 points and six assists. Sathy ended up with 13 points and six rebounds, while McFarland tallied 11 points, six rebounds and four assists in his first game as a Scot. Sophomore center Shane Anderson (Fargo, N.D./Davies) made the most of his first career start, registering 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.

May Max and Benny Larry Jr. led Northland with eight points apiece.

Macalester returns to action on Sunday, Nov. 10 with a non-conference game at Luther College. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. in Decorah, Iowa.

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