ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team earned a hard-fought victory at home against Concordia College, 60-56 in a MIAC game Monday night in the Leonard Center. The win gives the Scots a 9-5 record overall and a 6-4 mark in the conference. The Cobbers fall to 6-9, 4-6 MIAC.

Macalester trailed for most of the first half, falling behind by as many as 10 points, 25-15 with under five minutes remaining in the half. At that point, the offense came alive with a 14-0 run before halftime. Sophomore guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) and first year guard Eric Wentz (Minot, N.D./Minot) each scored five points, with Gold registering two steals, as the Scots took a 29-25 lead at the break.

Early in the second half, Concordia bounced back to cut the deficit to two, 35-33 with 16:44 on the clock. Junior guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) sparked a 10-0 run for Macalester with a pair of threes and a dunk that gave the Scots a 45-33 advantage with 14:47 to play. After a basket by Rowan Nelson, Gold completed a conventional three-point play to put Macalester on top, 48-35, the largest lead of the game. The Cobbers responded with eight straight points to reduce the lead to five, 48-43 with 8:13 remaining. Back-to-Back three-pointers from Gold and Williams restored the Scots' double-digit lead, 54-43 at the 6:32 mark.

The lead was still nine, 58-47 with 5:10 to play when Concordia tallied five straight points to pull to within four, 56-52. Two free throws for Gold with under a minute to play gave Macalester a 58-52 edge, but two baskets by Nelson sandwiched around a pair of missed free throws for the Scots made it a two-point game, 58-56 with five seconds left. On the next possession, Gold was fouled and made both free throws to wrap up the win.

Gold finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals to lead the Scots. He made four three-pointers and hit all five of his attempts from the charity stripe. Williams scored 19 points and grabbed six boards, while Wentz contributed nine points. Sophomore forward Badou Ba (Dakar, Senegal/Williston Northampton) also had seven rebounds to go with four points and two blocks. Nelson and Dylan Inniger each scored 15 points for Concordia.

Macalester plays the second of four straight home games on Wednesday, Jan. 18 against Saint Mary's University. The MIAC game begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.