NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team closed out the 2019-20 campaign with a 90-79 loss to St. Olaf College in a MIAC game Saturday afternoon at the Skoglund Center. The Scots complete their season with an overall record of 8-17 and a 5-15 mark in conference play. The Oles, who needed a win to advance to the MIAC Playoffs, improve to 12-13, 9-11 MIAC.

In the first half, St. Olaf used a 14-0 run to build a 20-10 lead with 11:27 left in the half. The gap was nine with 4:50 on the clock when Macalester reeled off a 15-2 spree capped by a three-pointer from junior forward Jackson Henningfield (Lake Mary, Fla./Lyman) to take a 34-30 lead with 2:04 left. Henningfield had two threes in the run and sophomore guard Eric Sathy (Cupertino, Calif./Homestead) hit another. Junior guard Gabriel Ramos (Dorado, Puerto Rico/Tasis Dorado) scored five points to help the Scots take a 39-34 edge before Charlie Haff made a three for the Oles to make the halftime score 39-37 Macalester.

St. Olaf made a push to open the second half by going on a 16-7 run over the first five minutes to lead, 53-46. The Scots pulled to within three points three times, including 59-56 following a basket by senior guard Nikhil Smith (Augusta, Ga./Lakeside) at the 10-minute mark. Five straight points by the Oles sparked a 12-5 run to extend the lead to 10, 71-61 with 6:48 remaining. Macalester came within six points, but St. Olaf maintained the upper hand, increasing their advantage to as many as 14 points down the stretch en route to the victory. The win clinches sixth place and a spot in the MIAC Playoffs for the Oles.  

Macalester shot 52.7 percent from the field for the game but allowed St. Olaf to make 55.0 percent of their field goal attempts. The Oles also turned 14 Scot turnovers into 20 points.

Ramos was 9-of-14 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe to finish with a career-high 23 points. He also delivered four assists. Henningfield registered 15 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore center Shane Anderson (Fargo, N.D./Davies) contributed 13 points and five boards. Junior guard Tyler McFarland (Denver, Colo./New Hampton School) made it four Scots in double figures with 12 points to go with six rebounds. Troy Diggins Jr. led St. Olaf with 21 points.

The game also marked the final contest in the Orange and Blue for seniors Smith, Mike Babb (St. Louis, Mo./St. John Vianney), Nathan Davies (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) and Levon Keller-Chavez (Berkeley, Calif./Berkeley).

Macalester will return nine players from this year's squad for the 2020-21 season. Henningfield will enter his senior season with 1,286 career points, which ranks seventh all-time at Macalester.