COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Junior guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) tallied the 1,000th point of his career, as the Macalester College men's basketball team lost a battle for second place in the MIAC to Saint John's University, 69-67 Wednesday evening at Sexton Arena. The Scots (15-9) are now tied with Saint Mary's for third place with a conference mark of 11-8, while the Johnnies improve to 15-9, 12-7 MIAC.

Williams, who came into the game with 998 career points in just 52 games, scored less than two minutes into the game to become the 24th player in Macalester men's basketball history to reach the milestone.

Saint John's led by as many as six points early in the first half, including a 19-13 advantage at the 11:18 mark. Baskets by sophomore guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) and first year forward Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) plus a three from sophomore guard Marcus Crawford (Edina, Minn./Edina) made the score 20-19 Macalester. The lead changed hands eight times over the next six minutes, with a basket from Shannon and a three by Williams giving the Scots a 33-29 lead with three minutes left in the half. After the Johnnies pulled to within one, 35-34, Gold drained a three-pointer to make the halftime score 38-34 Macalester. The Scots shot 57.7 percent from the field in the first half compared to 41.2 percent for Saint John's.

The Johnnies quickly regained the upper hand in the second half, opening with a 9-2 run over the first four minutes for a 43-40 lead. Back-to-back baskets by sophomore forward Badou Ba (Dakar, Senegal/Williston Northampton) and Williams briefly put the Scots up, 44-43 before Saint John's scored the next four points for a 47-44 edge at the 12:16 mark. Although the game remained close, the Johnnies held onto the lead over the next 10 minutes and led 65-61 before a three-pointer from Williams and two free throws by Gold gave Macalester a 66-65 lead with 1:37 left.

Three free throws by Kooper Vaughn put the Johnnies on top, 68-66, then Williams made 1-of-2 from the line to make it a one-point game. Vaughn returned to the line and made one free throw, giving the Scots the ball down two, 69-67 with 12 seconds remaining. Williams' shot attempt was blocked and time expired, giving Saint John's the season sweep of Macalester.

The Scots shot 33.3 percent from the field in the second half and were out-rebounded for the game, 36-26. Williams tallied 29 points and four rebounds while making 9-of-12 from the charity stripe. Gold registered 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals in a solid all-around performance. Shannon contributed 11 points, three assists and two steals before fouling out, while Ba grabbed a team-best nine boards to go with nine points. Ryan Thissen led Saint John's with 19 points.

Macalester closes out the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 18 at Augsburg. A win clinches the No. 3 seed in the MIAC Playoffs, which begin next week. Game time on Saturday is set for 1:00 p.m. in Minneapolis.