ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team built a 20-point halftime lead and closed strong in an 88-72 victory over UW-Stout in a non-conference game Tuesday night in the Leonard Center. The Scots, who had lost their past four games, head into the Thanksgiving break with a win to improve to 2-6, while the Blue Devils fall to 0-6.

Macalester opened the game with a 26-13 advantage over the first nine minutes, with junior forward Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) contributing 10 points in the run. After UW-Stout reduced the lead to seven, 35-28 with 6:31 left in the half, the Scots closed out the half on a 17-4 run to take a 52-32 bulge into the halftime break. Junior guard Eric Wentz (Minot, N.D./Minot) scored six points and first year guard JP Kerrigan (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) added five points down the stretch. Shannon finished the half with 17 points and eight rebounds, as Macalester shot 59.5 percent from the field while holding the Blue Devils to 36.1 percent shooting.

In the second half, a renewed effort by the visitors quickly reduced the Scots' lead to single digits, with UW-Stout using an 18-6 run to make the score 58-50 Macalester with 14:41 remaining. The Scots responded with threes from junior forward Ryan Brush (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) and Kerrigan to push the lead back up to 12, 64-52. The Blue Devils were able to get as close as six points, 66-60 with 8:39 to play. Again Macalester had an answer, using a three-pointer by sophomore guard Kaden Holdbrook (Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) to spark a 12-2 run that put the game out of reach, 78-62 with 5:08 left. UW-Stout never came closer than 12 points the rest of the way, as the Scots cruised to an 88-72 win.

Macalester ended up shooting 50.7 percent from the field for the game while making 7-of-18 from three-point range. The Scots also held a 42-39 edge in rebounding while committing just six turnovers compared to 13 for the Blue Devils.

Shannon was 11-of-19 from the field en route to a career-best 25 points to go with 15 rebounds, which ties his career high. He was one of five Scots to score in double figures. Wentz had 15 points and seven rebounds, Brush finished with 14 points, Holdbrook tallied 13 points and four assists, and Kerrigan finished with 11 points and seven boards. Senior guard Robert Grace IV (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) paced the defense with three steals. Jacob Walczak led UW-Stout with 26 points.

Macalester begins MIAC play on Wednesday, Dec. 4 with a home game against Hamline University. The opening tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the Leonard Center.