ST. PAUL, Minn. – Thirteen players scored points for the Scots as the Macalester College men's basketball team kicked off the 2022-23 season with a 91-53 victory over Martin Luther in a non-conference game Tuesday night in the Leonard Center. This is the fourth opening-night win in a row for the Scots, who were 15-13 last season.

The Knights jumped out to a 6-0 lead and kept the game close for the first eight minutes of the game. With the score tied, 17-17 at the 12:42 mark, Macalester went on a 19-0 run and never looked back. Sophomore guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) scored nine points in the run, and senior guard Ahad Anjum (Karachi, Pakistan/American School of Dubai) and first year guard Eric Wentz (Minot, N.D./Minot) each hit threes. The lead grew to as many as 25 points in the first half before a three-pointer by first year forward Ryan Brush (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) made the score 56-32 Scots at the break.

Martin Luther opened the second half with a basket by Micah Kieselhorst and a three from Nathan Miller to cut the deficit to 56-37. That's as close as the Knights would get, as Macalester tallied the next nine points, eventually leading by as many as 41 points to cruise to the season-opening win.

The Scots made 17 three-pointers in 52 attempts while shooting 41.0 percent overall from the field. Junior guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) scored 17 points and had a career-high six steals to lead Macalester. Gold registered 13 points and five assists, Wentz tallied 12 points in his collegiate debut, and sophomore guard Marcus Crawford (Edina, Minn./Edina) hit three three-pointers for nine points. Sophomore forward Badou Ba (Dakar, Senegal/Williston Northampton) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go with seven points and three blocks. Ezra Blumer led the Knights with 15 points.

Next up for Macalester is a non-conference game against Wartburg on Friday, Nov. 12. The game starts at 7:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.

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