ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team gave MIAC-leading Gustavus Adolphus all it could handle in a 64-61 defeat Wednesday evening in the Leonard Center. The Scots are now 4-10 overall and 1-4 in conference play, while the Gusties (10-3) remain unbeaten in the MIAC with a 4-0 conference record.

The MIAC clash remained close throughout, with neither team leading by more than nine points. The first half alone saw eight lead changes and eight ties, the last of which was 27-27 at the 4:36 mark. Back-to-back baskets by junior forward Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) put Macalester on top, 31-27, before Gustavus pulled to within one, 32-31 with 1:34 left in the half. Sophomore guard Kaden Holdbrook (Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) drained a three to restore the Scots' four-point lead before Myles Barnette scored to make the halftime score 35-33 Macalester. The Scots shot 58.3 percent from the field, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, while holding the Gusties to 3-of-13 shooting from deep.

Early in the second half, Gustavus used a 6-4 run to tie the score at 39-39. With the game still knotted at 46-46, the Gusties reeled off a 11-2 run to take their largest lead of the game, 57-48 with 6:28 remaining. A basket by Holdbrook and three-pointers from junior forward Ryan Brush (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) and junior guard Eric Wentz (Minot, N.D./Minot) brought the Scots to within three, 59-56 with 4:13 to play.

After the teams exchanged baskets, a free throw by Shannon made it a two-point game, 61-59 at the 1:27 mark. With 47 seconds left, Shannon answered a Gustavus basket to keep the deficit at two, 63-61. On the next possession, the Gusties missed a shot but Evan Wieker grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled. He made 1-of-2 free throws, making the score 64-61 with 14 seconds on the clock. The Scots had a three-point attempt just before the buzzer but it did not drop, and Gustavus held on for the win.

Macalester ended up shooting 50.0 percent from the field for the game but cooled from long range, hitting 3-of-10 three-point attempts after halftime. Shannon was 9-of-14 from the floor to finish with a game-high 19 points. Wentz came off the bench to tally 10 points and six rebounds, with senior guard Tom Andreae (Newton, Mass./Newton North) matching Wentz with six boards to go with three assists. Wyatt Olson led Gustavus with 14 points and four assists.

Next up for the Scots is another MIAC game on Saturday, Jan. 11 at Bethel University. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. in Arden Hills, Minn.