NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team lost a second straight two-point game in falling to Carleton College, 76-74 in a MIAC game Wednesday night at West Gym. The Scots, who dropped a 75-73 decision at Hamline on Saturday, are now 9-15 overall and 5-14 in the conference. The Knights improve to 16-8, 13-6 MIAC.

The first half remained close throughout, with neither team leading by more than six points. With Macalester leading 25-24, Carleton went on a 9-2 run to take a 33-27 advantage with 3:33 left in the half. The lead was still six when a basket by sophomore guard Eric Wentz (Minot, N.D./Minot) and two free throws from senior guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) made it a two-point game, 35-33 with two minutes on the clock. After a pair of Knights' free throws, the teams exchanged three-pointers over the final 1:19, with junior guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver), sophomore forward Ryan Brush (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) and Wentz hitting from deep for the Scots. Wentz's shot beat the buzzer, sending the teams into the halftime break with Carleton leading, 43-42. Macalester made 8-of-15 from three-point range in the first half compared to 7-of-14 for the Knights.

Williams opened the second half with a basket to give the Scots a brief 44-43 lead. Carleton responded with a 10-2 run to take a 53-46 advantage with 14:08 remaining. The lead was still seven, 57-50, when Macalester reeled off a 19-7 run punctuated by four three-pointers that put the Scots on top, 69-64 with 5:40 to play. Junior guard Tom Andreae (Newton, Mass./Newton North) hit a pair of threes in the run, with Gold and Brush making the others. Carleton answered again with six points from Matt Banovetz for a 70-69 edge. Gold made a floater, then Banovetz went 1-of-2 from the line to tie the game at 71-71 with 2:36 on the clock.

After Macalester came up empty on its next two possessions, Miles Frisch scored for a 73-71 Carleton lead. Two free throws by Alex Gibbens following another Scots miss put the Knights up four, 75-71 with eight seconds left. Macalester hurried to the other end and Gold drained a three with three seconds left to make the score 75-74. Gibbens was fouled and made the first but missed the second. A desperation shot at the buzzer was off the mark, and the Knights held on to avenge a loss to Macalester on Jan. 10. Carleton hit 7-of-9 from beyond the arc in the second half while holding the Scots to 5-of-16 from deep after halftime.

Williams tallied a game-high 25 points and dished out four assists to lead Macalester. Wentz contributed 15 points, with Gold adding 14 points and six rebounds. Andreae grabbed a career-high eight rebounds to go with six points, three assists and three steals. Sam Koelling led the Knights with 16 points.

The Scots wrap up the 2023-24 season on Saturday, Feb. 17 with a home game against Augsburg University. Prior to the opening tip, which is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center, Macalester will honor Williams as a part of Senior Day.