ST. PAUL, Minn. – Five players scored in double figures, as the Macalester College men's basketball team won its fifth straight game, 79-72 over Gustavus Adolphus Saturday afternoon in the Leonard Center. The MIAC win evens the Scots' overall record at 9-9 while improving their conference record to 6-7. The Gusties fall to 9-7, 6-5 MIAC.

The first half went back and forth with 12 lead changes and four ties. With the score tied at 19-19 at the 5:26 mark, Macalester closed out the half with a 13-7 run, including three-pointers from senior guard Eric Sathy (Cupertino, Calif./Homestead) and first year guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver), to give the Scots a 32-26 lead at halftime. Macalester shot 5-of-13 from three-point range in the first half compared to 2-of-10 for Gustavus.

Five minutes into the second half, another three from Sathy pushed the Scots' lead to eight, 42-34. The Gusties cut the deficit to three twice over the next three minutes, but a conventional three-point play with 9:11 remaining by senior guard Lucas Leiter (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Eagan) gave Macalester its largest lead to that point, 56-47. Again Gustavus fought back and came within four points twice, but the Scots responded by extending the lead to as many as 13, 77-64 with 1:05 on the clock. The Gusties hit a pair of threes in the final minute, but it was not enough, as Macalester avenged an 84-67 loss to Gustavus in St. Peter back on Dec. 4.

The Scots shot 53.6 percent from the floor after halftime, including 4-of-8 from three-point range. Sathy, who made three three-pointers, finished with a team-best 13 points in 16 minutes off the bench. Leiter also played well in a reserve role, scoring a career-high 12 points in 21 minutes. First year forward Badou Ba (Dakar, Senegal/Williston Northampton) also had a career night off the bench with 10 points to go with six rebounds. Gold and Williams each finished with 12 points, while Williams grabbed six boards and Gold dished out three assists. Peter Lundquist scored 18 points to lead the Gusties.

The five-game winning streak is the longest since the 2007-08 squad won five games in a row, and the most consecutive MIAC wins since the 2003-04 team won eight conference games in a row.

Macalester hosts MIAC-foe Carleton on Wednesday, Feb. 2. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.