ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team closed out the 2021-22 regular season with a milestone victory over Hamline University, 76-62 in MIAC action Wednesday night at Hutton Arena. The Scots improve to 12-12 overall and 9-10 in the conference to clinch sixth place in the MIAC. The Pipers drop to 9-15, 7-12 MIAC.
The 12 wins are the most for the Scots since the 2003-04 squad finished 18-9, the best record in the program's history. Macalester also had not won nine MIAC games since 2004-05, when the Scots went 10-10 to also take sixth in the conference.
Macalester held the upper hand for the entire first half, leading by as many as nine points, 27-18 with 3:21 on the clock. Hamline closed to within four, 27-23 before senior guard
Gabriel Ramos (Dorado, Puerto Rico/Tasis Dorado) and senior center
Shane Anderson (Fargo, N.D./Davies) made back-to-back baskets at the end of the half to give the Scots a 31-23 edge at the break. Macalester held the Pipers to 32.1 percent shooting from the field in the first half while shooting 43.3 percent.
The lead grew to 12 after first year guard
Robert Grace IV (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) made a basket with 15:29 remaining for a 39-27 advantage. Later in the second half, Hamline used a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to five, 45-40 with 11:27 to play. With the Scots still up by five, 60-55, first year guard
Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) hit a jumper and Ramos followed with a three to push the lead back up to 10, 65-55 with 3:17 left. Senior guard
Lucas Leiter (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Eagan) drained a pair of threes down the stretch, as Macalester closed out the win and avenged a loss to Hamline earlier in the season.
The Scots heated up offensively after halftime, shooting 53.9 percent from the field, including 7-of-12 from beyond the arc. Gold led the way with 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range. Ramos and sophomore guard
Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) each had 12 points, with Ramos grabbing a team-high nine rebounds. Leiter finished with nine points, four rebounds and two steals. The Pipers were led by Cooper Berg with 18 points.
The MIAC Playoffs begin on Saturday, Feb. 19 with first-round games at the higher seed. This year all 11 teams are included in the playoff. Macalester earned the sixth seed and will host 11th-seeded St. Scholastica on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center. The game will be the first MIAC men's basketball playoff game in the Leonard Center, which was built in 2008. Macalester students, faculty and staff will be admitted free with a valid Macalester ID card. Tickets will be required for all other attendees. Ticket information will be announced later this week.
