ST. PAUL, Minn. – A driving layup by junior guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) plus the free throw with 3.7 seconds remaining broke a tie score and gave the Macalester College men's basketball team a 75-72 victory over Saint Mary's University Wednesday evening in the Leonard Center. The MIAC win ends the Cardinals' eight-game winning streak and gives the Scots a 10-5 record overall, including a 7-4 mark in the conference. Saint Mary's drops to 10-6, 6-5 MIAC.

With Macalester down by two, 72-70 with 1:22 on the clock, Williams hit two free throws to tie the score at 72-72 with under a minute to play. After a missed three-pointer by Saint Mary's, Williams drove to the basket with time winding down, laid the ball in with his left hand and was fouled. After Williams made the free throw for a 75-72 edge, Raheem Anthony took a long three from the right side that was off the mark, clinching the win for the Scots.

Macalester started the game well, opening with a 15-4 run that included a pair of threes by first year guard Eric Wentz (Minot, N.D./Minot). The lead grew to 24-12 with 7:19 left in the half before the Cardinals used a 16-6 run to cut the lead to 30-28 with under a minute on the clock. Sophomore guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) hit a jumper, then sophomore guard Marcus Crawford (Edina, Minn./Edina) drained a three as time expired to give the Scots a 35-28 advantage at the break. Macalester held Saint Mary's to 34.5 percent shooting from the field while making 51.7 of its shots in the first half.

The Cardinals started the second half on first, reeling off a 15-1 spree punctuated by a dunk from Anthony that put Saint Mary's ahead, 43-36 with 15:27 remaining. Williams brought the Scots back with 10 points in a 25-8 run that saw first year forward Ryan Brush (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) hit back-to-back threes, as Macalester led 61-51 with 8:40 left to play. The Cardinals refused to give in, battling back to regain the lead, 64-63 with 5:21 on the clock. Williams answered with a three-pointer for a 66-64 edge, only to have Anthony tie the game with a jumper at the 4:23 mark.

Gold and Anthony exchanged baskets, then Anthony scored following a Scots' miss to make the score 70-68 Saint Mary's with 2:43 remaining. A layup by sophomore guard Robert Grace IV (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) knotted the score at 70-70 before Anthony hit two free throws, setting up Williams' heroics.

Macalester shot 56.5 percent from the field in the second half to finish with a season-best .538 shooting percentage for the game. The Scots also make 11-of-20 (.550) from beyond the arc for the game. Williams was 8-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, en route to a team-best 24 points. Wentz tallied 13 points and made 3-of-3 from deep, while Gold contributed 11 points, five assists, four rebounds and two blocks. Brush came off the bench to score a career-high 11 points, including three three-pointers, while Grace registered six points, three boards and four assists. Sophomore forward Badou Ba (Dakar, Senegal/Williston Northampton) led the Scots on the glass with 11 rebounds to go with seven points. Anthony led all players with 25 points to pace the Cardinals.

Macalester hosts Bethel on Saturday, Jan. 21 in another MIAC clash. Game time is set for 5:15 p.m. in the Leonard Center.