ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester college men's basketball team began the 2023-24 season Wednesday night in front of a spirited crowd in the Leonard Center. Despite 23 points from first year guard Kaden Holdbrook (Palo Alto, Calif./Gunn), the Scots lost the opener to UW-Superior, 88-73 in a non-conference game. Macalester is coming off a 15-11 campaign in 2022-23, while the Yellowjackets were 17-10 a year ago.

The Scots gave the home crowd something to cheer about right away by making their first four shots, including back-to-back threes from Holdbrook, in building an 11-2 lead. A three-pointer by sophomore forward Ryan Brush (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) made the score 14-5 Macalester with 15:47 left in the first half. With the Scots up 18-10 following a basket by junior guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose), UW-Superior used a 22-4 run to take control of the game and lead, 32-22 with 6:45 on the clock. A pair of Holdbrook free throws and a basket by junior forward Armando Akapo-Nwagbo (Owerri, Nigeria/Pomona) helped Macalester cut the deficit to 35-26 before a free throw from Reid Johnson sent the Yellowjackets into the halftime break with a 36-25 advantage. Johnson had 15 points in the first half, as UW-Superior made 6-of-12 from beyond the arc compared to 4-of-14 for the Scots.

Right out of the break, junior guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) hit a three to make it a seven-point game, 36-29. But the Yellowjackets responded with a 10-2 run to take a commanding 46-31 lead four minutes into the second half. Macalester battled back, getting two three-pointers from sophomore guard Eric Wentz (Minot, N.D./Minot) and another from Brush to spark a 13-4 spree that reduced the lead to six, 50-44 with 12:24 to play. Again UW-Superior had an answer, as Joey Barker scored the first six points of an 11-0 spree to push the lead to 61-44 midway through the second half. The Scots were able to come within 10 points twice but the Yellowjackets proved to be too much down the stretch in closing out the 88-73 win.

Holdbrook tallied 15 points in the second half to finish his first collegiate game with a team-best 23 points. He made 8-of-13 from the field, including five of his eight shots from three-point range, and added six rebounds and five assists. Williams scored 22 points to go with six boards and two steals. Sophomore forward Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) also grabbed six rebounds and had eight points and five assists. J'Vaun Walker led all players with 26 points for UW-Superior.

Macalester heads to Waverly, Iowa to face Wartburg on Saturday, Nov. 11. The non-conference game begins at 2:00 p.m.