NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team earned its first MIAC Playoff victory on the road in defeating third-seeded Carleton, 70-56 in the quarterfinals Wednesday night at West Gym. The win clinches a winning season for the first time since 2003-04 for the sixth-seeded Scots, who improve to 14-12. The Knights end their season with a record of 16-7.

Macalester advances to the MIAC semifinals on Friday, Feb. 25 at Augsburg, the second seed, who beat No. 7 Bethel, 82-66 tonight. Prior to Wednesday night, the Scots were 0-3 in MIAC Playoff road games.

Macalester broke open the game in a big way midway through the first half. Leading 18-14, the Scots went on a 22-4 run over the final 10 minutes of the half, getting eight points each from first year guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) and sophomore guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose), to take a 40-18 advantage at the break. Macalester shot 58.6 percent from the floor in the half, including 6-of-10 from three-point range, with Gold (14 points) and Williams (12 points) combining for 26 points in the half. Gold hit 4-of-4 from beyond the arc before halftime.

Four minutes into the second half, Gold was fouled while making a three-pointer and made the ensuing free throw to put Macalester ahead, 48-24. Running out of time, Carleton began cutting into the lead with a 13-2 run that made the score 50-37 Scots with 10:47 to play. A three-pointer by Williams halted the run, and another three from Gold helped the Scots push the lead back up to 19, 60-41 with 4:33 remaining. But the Knights, who had beaten the Scots twice during the regular season, did not give up, scoring the next 10 points to reduce the lead to single digits, 61-51 with 2:24 on the clock.

On the next possession, Gold grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed shot by Williams and found senior guard Lucas Leiter (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Eagan) open in the corner. Leiter drained the three for a 63-51 lead, and Macalester made 7-of-8 from the free throw line to wrap up the win. Macalester held the Knights to 33.9 percent shooting from the field and won the rebounding battle, 39-34.

Gold was 7-of-9 from the field, including 6-of-7 from beyond the arc, and scored 21 points to go with six rebounds and four assists. Williams finished with 16 points, four rebounds and three steals. Senior guard Gabriel Ramos (Dorado, Puerto Rico/Tasis Dorado) was a big factor all game, tallying his second straight double-double with 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Alex Gibbens paced Carleton with 21 points.

The MIAC Playoff semifinal against Augsburg will take place in Si Melby Hall at 7:45 p.m. following the women's game between Augsburg and Hamline.  

2022 MIAC Men's Basketball Playoffs - Feb. 19-26
First Round, Saturday, Feb. 19
No. 6 Macalester 79, No. 11 St. Scholastica 66
No. 7 Bethel 82, No. 10 Concordia 63
No. 8 Hamline 89, No. 9 Saint Mary's 64

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, Feb. 23
No. 1 Saint John's 74, No. 8 Hamline 53
No. 6 Macalester 70, No. 3 Carleton 56
No. 2 Augsburg 82, No. 7 Bethel 66
No. 5 St. Olaf 76, No. 4 Gustavus 73

Semifinals, Friday, Feb. 25
No. 6 Macalester at No. 2 Augsburg, 7:45 p.m.
No. 5 St. Olaf at No. 1 Saint John's, 7:00 p.m.

Championship, Saturday, Feb. 27
Highest remaining seed hosts, 2:00 p.m.