NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Sophomore guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) scored 21 points to lead the Macalester College men's basketball team to a 58-56 victory at St. Olaf in a MIAC game Wednesday night in the Skoglund Center. The Scots, who trailed by as many as seven points in the second half, won their second game in a row to improve to 6-9 overall and 3-7 in the conference. The Oles fall to 8-8, 4-7 MIAC.

The first half remained close, with Macalester breaking a 17-17 tie with a three-pointer by first year guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) at the six-minute mark. St. Olaf responded by scoring the next 10 points for a 27-20 edge with 22 seconds left. Williams scored at the end of the half to make the halftime score 27-22 St. Olaf. Neither team shot the ball well in the first half, with the Scots making 32.1 percent of their field goal attempts compared to 34.4 percent for the Oles.

The lead was still seven when Macalester used two free throws by senior guard Gabriel Ramos (Dorado, Puerto Rico/Tasis Dorado), a basket by first year forward Badou Ba (Dakar, Senegal/Williston Northampton) and a layup from first year guard Robert Grace IV (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) to pull to within one, 34-33 with 14:25 remaining. St. Olaf increased its lead to six, 39-33, before the Scots tied it up at 39-39 with a basket by Williams midway through the second half.

After a free throw by Charlie Haff briefly gave the lead back to St. Olaf, six points by Williams sparked a 10-1 Macalester run that put the Scots on top with their largest lead of the game, 49-41 with 4:21 left. The Oles came within two points twice down the stretch, but Macalester hit five of its six free throw attempts in the final minute to close out the win and earn a split in the season series. The victory follows the Scots' comeback win over Bethel on Jan. 15.

Macalester stepped up the defensive effort, holding St. Olaf to a field goal percentage of 32.8 percent (21-of-64) for the game. Williams rose to the occasion in the second half with 12 of his 21 points coming after halftime. For the game he was a perfect 7-of-7 from the line and grabbed five rebounds. Ramos finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Gold tallied 11 points and three steals to go with a career-high nine rebounds. Dominic Bledsoe and Nathan Hendler each scored 14 points to lead St. Olaf.

Macalester heads to Winona, Minn., on Saturday, Jan. 22 to face Saint Mary's University in another MIAC battle. The game starts at 3:00 p.m.