ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team drained 10 three-pointers and outscored its opponent 49-37 after halftime, but it was not enough to overcome a slow start in an 83-72 loss to the University of Northwestern Tuesday evening in the Leonard Center. The Scots are now 1-4 on the season while the Eagles improve to 2-2.

Everything seemed to go wrong for the hosts and right for the visitors in the first half, as Northwestern built a 46-23 lead by halftime. Macalester shot 32.0 percent (8-of-25) from the field and turned the ball over 12 times, which the Eagles converted into 18 points off turnovers. Northwestern also shot 56.3 percent from the field in the first half while committing just three turnovers.

The Eagles' lead grew to as many as 25 points and was still 23, 64-41 with 10:33 remaining when Macalester started to heat up. Fifteen points from junior forward Ryan Brush (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) that included three three-pointers sparked a 28-12 Scots' run that made it a seven-point game, 76-69 with 2:34 to play. Sophomore guard Kaden Holdbrook (Palo Alto, Calif./Gunn) also had 10 points in the run. The Scots came as close as 78-72 with 1:29 left before Northwestern tallied the final five points, keeping Macalester scoreless to wrap up the win.

The Scots ended up shooting 42.9 percent from the field in the second half and hit five of their 10 three-point attempts. Brush finished with a career-high 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. He also grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds. First year guard JP Kerrigan (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) also had a career best performance with 15 points and four three-pointers. Holdbrook scored 12 points, all in the second half, with Wentz adding 13 points. Senior guard Tom Andreae (Newton, Mass./Newton North) matched Brush with seven boards to go with five assists in 25 minutes off the bench. Japheth Nyamari led the Eagles with 24 points.

Macalester returns to action on Thursday, Nov. 21 with a non-conference home game against Bethel University. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.