ST. PAUL, Minn. –  After a slow start, the Macalester College men's basketball team shot 56.7 percent from the field in the second half to spark a 69-55 victory over St. Scholastica in a MIAC game Saturday afternoon in the Leonard Center. The Scots are now 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the conference, while the Saints drop to 3-9, 2-5 MIAC.

Macalester struggled offensively in the first half, shooting 34.5 percent from the field compared to 36.8 percent for St. Scholastica. Solid defense helped the Scots lead for most of the half, building a 29-22 advantage with 2:02 remaining. But the Saints heated up before halftime, hitting a pair of threes in closing out the half with an 8-0 run to lead, 30-29 at the break.

The second half saw Macalester come out on fire, with junior guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) and first year forward Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) each making a pair of threes to spark an 18-4 run over the first five minutes for a 47-34 lead. The Saints responded with a 9-2 run of their own to make it a six-point game, 49-43 with 11:13 to play. A conventional three-point play by sophomore forward Badou Ba (Dakar, Senegal/Williston Northampton) started a 7-2 spree that put the Scots up, 56-44 midway through the second half. St. Scholastica came within eight points three times over the next six minutes, but a dunk by Ba, two baskets from Williams and a three by first year guard Eric Wentz (Minot, N.D./Minot) gave Macalester an insurmountable 69-53 lead with under a minute to play.

Williams scored 12 of his team-leading 14 points in the second half while registering five rebounds and three steals for the game. Ba was 6-of-8 from the field and registered 13 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for his third double-double of the season. Shannon and sophomore guard Robert Grace IV (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) each scored 10 points, with Grace adding three steals and two assists. Sophomore guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) finished with nine points and three assists. Noah Winesett led St. Scholastica with 16 points and eight boards.

Macalester heads to Hamline to take on the Pipers on Wednesday, Jan. 11. The MIAC game starts at 7:00 p.m. in St. Paul.