ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team hosted the chaos that is Grinnell College basketball, but reigned in the Pioneers and won 126-114 Saturday afternoon at the Leonard Center. The Pioneers, who play a high-pressure style on defense and a quick-to-shoot style on offense, drop to 2-1, while the Scots get back to .500 at 2-2.
 
The Scots tallied the first eight points of the game on a pair of threes and two free throws from senior Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier), and stayed hot early in the first taking a 14 point lead, 29-15 with 12 minutes remaining in the half. Even that lead was never safe against Grinnell, as Pioneers took a five-point lead into half. They were powered by an 8-0 run that made the score 29-31 midway through the first half.
 
Macalester wasn't demoralized after trailing at the break though, as they came out hot and managed to retake the lead seven minutes into the second period. The team wouldn't relinquish that lead. The Scots were on fire from three in the second half, shooting 69.2% from beyond the arc in the second half. The Scots closed it out by scoring nearly on demand, finishing strong and not allowing the Pioneers to sniff a comeback.
 
Seven Scots finished in double figures, as Shannon again led the way and scored more than 30 points for the second consecutive contest. He shot 21 free throws and made 18. First-year guard Owen Walther (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School) had 21 points and didn't score a single two-point shot, going 7/11 from three-point range. Senior Ryan Brush (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) also eclipsed the 20 mark, scoring 25 on 8 for 16 shooting. Diaz, Hamburge, first-year Jamal Randle (St. Paul, Minn./Great River School) and sophomore Joaquin Aguillon (San Rafael, Calif./The Branson School) were the other Scots with double digits.
 
Macalester plays another non-conference game away on Tuesday, Nov. 18 against University of Northwestern (MN). The game starts at 7:00 p.m. at the Ericksen Center.