ST. PAUL, Minn. – Junior guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) hit six three-pointers en route to 35 points, as the Macalester College men's basketball team beat Hamline University, 73-66 in a key MIAC contest Wednesday evening in the Leonard Center. The win gives the Scots (11-6) an 8-5 record in the conference, keeping pace with a crowded group at the top of the MIAC standings. The Pipers fall to 10-8, 6-7 MIAC to remain in seventh place. 

Macalester took control early, jumping out to a 14-4 lead over the first 6:20 of the game. Williams and first year Ryan Brush (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) each made threes, and sophomore forward Badou Ba (Dakar, Senegal/Williston Northampton) had four points in the run. The lead was nine when Hamline used an 11-2 run to tie the score at 23-23 with six minutes on the clock. A three-pointer by Brendan Ebel allowed the Pipers to briefly lead, 29-28, only to have the Scots respond with a 15-3 spree for a 43-32 advantage with 1:17 left in the half. Williams tallied eight points and first year forward Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) made a three-pointer in the run. Hamline's Brad Cimperman scored five points in the final minute, and Williams scored again just before the buzzer to make the halftime score 45-37 Macalester.

Williams scored 20 points and was 4-for-5 from beyond the arc in the first half. Cimperman tallied 15 points for the Pipers.

The Scots led by nine, 52-43 when Hamline made another push, scoring seven straight points to spark a 9-2 run and cut the deficit to two, 54-52 at the 12-minute mark. Williams answered again, draining a pair of threes sandwiched around a trey from Brush in an 11-2 run that pushed the lead back up to 11, 65-54 with 9:15 left. The Pipers came within five points twice down the stretch, including 69-64 with under a minute to play. Williams hit 3-of-4 from the free throw line and sophomore guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) made another to clinch the victory for Macalester.

The Scots shot 50.0 percent from the field in both halves while holding Hamline to 41.0 percent shooting for the game. Williams was 10-of-26 overall and 6-of-11 from three-point range while making nine of his 10 free throw attempts. The 35-point performance is one shy of his career high of 36 points, which he set against Wartburg earlier this season. He also grabbed eight rebounds and had three assists and three steals. Gold finished with 17 points and three assists, while Ba registered eight points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Cimperman had 21 points, and Austin Holt recorded 16 points and 18 rebounds for Hamline.

Macalester travels to Duluth, Minn. to face St. Scholastica on Saturday, Jan. 28. The MIAC game begins at 1:00 p.m.