DULUTH, Minn. – Trailing by as many as 12 points, the Macalester College men's basketball team battled back to defeat the College of St. Scholastica on the road, 57-50 in a MIAC game Wednesday night at Reif Gymnasium. The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Scots, who improve to 4-5 overall and 1-4 in the conference. The Saints fall to 1-5, 0-4 MIAC.

St. Scholastica took control early in building a 13-5 advantage over the first eight minutes of the game. The lead was still eight after a basket by first year center Jack Hernandez (New Hope, Minn./Hopkins) made the score 27-19 with three minutes remaining in the first half. The Saints responded by tallying four straight points to take their largest lead of the game, 31-19. Over the final minute of the half, Macalester made a dent in the deficit with a three-pointer and a layup from sophomore guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) to make the halftime score 31-24 St. Scholastica. The Scots shot just 25.8 percent from the field in the first half compared to 44.0 percent for the Saints.

Momentum stayed with Macalester into the second half, as baskets by Williams and senior guard Gabriel Ramos (Dorado, Puerto Rico/Tasis Dorado) sandwiched around a three from Hernandez tied the score at 31-31 with 16:20 on the clock. St. Scholastica regained the lead with an 11-5 run over the next four minutes for a 42-36 advantage. But the Scots were undeterred, getting four points from Ramos and five points from first year guard Robert Grace IV (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School), who capped a 13-2 spree with a steal and a conventional three-point play to give Macalester the lead, 49-44 with five minutes remaining.

A pair of free throws brought the Saints to within three, but baskets by Williams and senior guard Lucas Leiter (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Eagan) pushed the Scots' lead up to seven, 53-46 with 2:18 left to play. The hosts cut the lead to five twice down the stretch but it was not enough, as senior guard Eric Sathy (Cupertino, Calif./Homestead) punctuated the victory with a dunk to end the game. Macalester shot a much-improved 50.0 percent from the floor in the second half and limited the Saints to just seven field goals on 33.3 percent shooting after halftime.

Williams led the Scots in scoring and rebounding with 18 points and eight rebounds. Hernandez finished with 13 points and six boards, while Leiter tallied a career-high 10 points. Grace IV ended up with a career-best five steals to go with five points. Jack Silgen scored 18 points for St. Scholastica, which is playing in the MIAC for the first time this season.

Macalester plays its final game of 2021 on Saturday, Dec. 11 at home against Saint John's. The MIAC contest starts at 3:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.