ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team dropped a MIAC game to Hamline University, 89-74 Monday night in the Leonard Center. The loss is the sixth in the past eight games for the Scots, who are now 7-8 overall and 3-7 in the conference. The Pipers have won their past four games to improve to 9-6, 7-3 MIAC.
Macalester opened the game with a 16-13 edge, including four points from junior guard
Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) and threes by sophomores
Ryan Brush (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) and
Eric Wentz (Minot, N.D./Minot). At that point Hamline took control of the game with an 18-2 run for a 31-18 lead with 7:02 left in the first half. The lead grew to as many as 17 points before a conventional three-point play by junior guard
Robert Grace IV (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) and a Wentz free throw made the score 42-29 Pipers with 19 seconds on the clock. Bradley Cimperman beat the buzzer with a jumper before halftime to give Hamline a 44-29 advantage at the break. The Pipers shot 48.5 percent from the field in the first half compared to 37.0 percent for the Scots, with Cimperman scoring 17 points.
Hamline remained on top for the duration of the second half, leading by as many as 20 points. With the score 75-55 Pipers, a pair of threes by first year guard
Kaden Holdbrook (Palo Alto, Calif./Gunn) helped Macalester go on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 12, 77-65 with 3:51 to play. But that's as close as the Scots would get, as Hamline closed out the win. Macalester made 6-of-15 from three-point range after halftime, but the Pipers went inside to outscore the Scots 18-8 in the paint in the second half.
Wentz finished with 22 points to match his career high and lead all scorers. Williams finished with 20 points, five rebounds and three assists, with junior guard
Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) registered 10 points and seven boards. Junior forward
Armando Akapo-Nwagbo (Owerri, Nigeria/Pomona) grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds. Cimperman led the Pipers with 21 points.
Macalester will face St. Olaf on the road on Wednesday, Jan. 17 in another MIAC game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Northfield, Minn.
