ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team began MIAC play with an 85-70 loss to Hamline University Wednesday evening in the Leonard Center. The Scots are now 2-7 overall and 0-1 in the conference, while the Pipers improve to 4-3 on the season and 1-0 in the MIAC.

The game was close early, with Macalester taking a 17-16 edge on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Kaden Holdbrook (Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) at the 12:15 mark of the first half. Hamline gained the upper hand with a 13-2 run for a 29-19 lead with 8:23 on the clock. The lead grew to as many as 17 points, as the Pipers took a 47-30 advantage into the halftime break. Hamline shot 57.6 percent from the field compared to 37.9 percent by the Scots in the first half.

After the Pipers pushed their lead to 25 early in the second half, Macalester used a pair of threes from junior forward Ryan Brush (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) and another from sophomore guard Berke Arslan (Istanbul, Turkey/Montverde Academy) to spark a 17-9 run and bring the deficit back to 17, 67-50. Hamline continued to control the game and extended its lead to 26 points, 77-51 before the Scots closed out the game on a 19-8 run over the final five minutes of the game. Macalester's shooting improved to 48.3 percent from the field in the second half, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. But the Pipers held a 40-29 advantage in rebounds and outscored the Scots in the paint, 48-26 for the game.

Junior forward Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) tallied 15 points, nine rebounds and two assists to lead Macalester. Brush and Holdbrook each finished with 12 points, while first year guard JP Kerrigan (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) registered 11 points and played all 40 minutes. Bradley Cimperman led Hamline with 21 points.

The Scots continue MIAC play with a game at Augsburg University on Saturday, Dec. 7. The conference contest begins at 1:00 p.m. in Minneapolis, Minn.