Click here for ticket information for the MIAC Playoff championship.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team erased a 13-point deficit in the second half to beat second-seeded Augsburg University, 76-74 in the semifinals of the MIAC Playoffs Friday evening at Si Melby Hall. The sixth-seeded Scots, who are now 15-12 on the season, advance to the MIAC title game on Sunday, Feb. 27 at Saint John's. The regionally-ranked Auggies fall to 17-7 and will wait to see if they received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.

The trip to the finals will be the second time the Scots have played for the MIAC championship, joining the 2004 squad that lost to Gustavus in the final. Macalester is currently riding a five-game winning streak and has won 11 of its past 14 games.

The first half remained competitive throughout, with the fans from both teams creating an exciting playoff atmosphere. Midway through the half, a basket from sophomore guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) and a three-pointer by first year guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) put Macalester on top, 24-17. The lead was five when Augsburg used a 15-1 run to gain the upper hand, 40-31 with under a minute to go in the half. A basket by senior guard Gabriel Ramos (Dorado, Puerto Rico/Tasis Dorado) ended the run and made the halftime score 40-33 Auggies. Both teams hit six three-pointers in the first half, but Augsburg turned five offensive rebounds into six second-chance points.

The hosts opened the second half with an 8-2 run over the first four minutes to extend their lead to 13, 48-35. Macalester responded with a 22-10 run that included three-pointers by Williams and senior guards Lucas Leiter (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Eagan) and Eric Sathy (Cupertino, Calif./Homestead) to make it a one-point game, 58-57 with 10:05 remaining. Sathy answered a Rayquan Moore three-pointer with one of his own, then Williams hit back-to-back baskets and converted a conventional three-point play on the second to give the Scots a 65-61 lead with seven minutes left.

After Joe Palmer and first year forward Badou Ba (Dakar, Senegal/Williston Northampton) each hit a pair of free throws, Ba blocked Palmer's layup attempt, setting up another three from Williams for a 70-63 advantage with 6:11 to play. Bradley Winter made back-to-back baskets to bring the Auggies to within three, 70-67 at the 2:07 mark. The lead was still three when Winter scored again to pull to within one, 74-73 with seven seconds left. Leiter was fouled with four seconds remaining, and he made both free throws to make the score 76-73. On the next possession, Palmer was fouled and went to the line. He made the first and intentionally missed the second. He grabbed his own rebound but could not get off a shot in time, and the Scots' fans flooded Ernie Anderson Court in celebration.

Macalester shot 51.9 percent from the field in the second half compared to 45.2 percent for the Auggies, who went to the free throw line just nine times for the game. Williams scored 22 points and had five assists and two steals. Gold and Ramos each had 14 points, while Gold added eight rebounds and seven assists. Leiter came off the bench to score a career-high 12 points, with Sathy going 3-of-4 from three-point range to finish with nine points. Palmer, who leads the MIAC in both scoring and rebounding this season, led Augsburg with 20 points and nine boards.

Saint John's, the No. 1 seed in the MIAC Playoffs, advanced to the final after beating St. Olaf, 76-57 earlier this evening.

Macalester and Saint John's will play for the MIAC Playoff championship and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 2:00 p.m. in Collegeville, Minn. Click here for ticket information.

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 76, No. 2 Augsburg 74
No. 1 Saint John's 76, No. 5 St. Olaf 57

Championship, Saturday, Feb. 27
No. 6 Macalester at No. 1 Saint John's, 2:00 p.m.

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