WAVERLY, Iowa – The Macalester College men's basketball team played its second straight non-conference game in Iowa, losing to Wartburg, 86-67 Sunday afternoon at Levick Arena. The Scots (0-2) received a career-best effort from sophomore guard
Joaquin Aguillon (San Rafael, Calif./The Branson School). The Knights improve to 2-0 on the season.
The game started well for Macalester, with senior forward
Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) scoring six points and senior forward
Ryan Brush (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) tallying five points for an 11-4 lead four minutes after tip-off. Wartburg tied the score with seven straight points before baskets by first year forward
Javier Diaz (Lake Oswego, Ore./Tualatin) and first year guard
Owen Walther (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School) put the Scots up, 15-11 with 11:27 left in the half. An 11-2 run helped the Knights take the lead, 22-17, then a three and a basket by Aguillon wrapped around a basket by Wartburg's Cael Schramm made the score 24-22 Wartburg. From that point, the Knights took control of the game, reeling off a 25-6 run over the final 7:38 of the half to take a commanding 49-28 bulge into the halftime break.
Early in the second half, three-pointers from Walther and Aguillon, plus a basket by Diaz, cut Wartburg's lead to 15, 53-38 with 13:38 to play. But that's as close as the Scots would get, as the Knights extended their lead to as many as 30 before taking a 86-67 victory. Wartburg recorded a 51-30 rebounding advantage while limiting Macalester to just two second-chance points for the game.
Aguillon registered career highs of 14 points and six steals to go with four rebounds and three assists. Walther made 4-of-6 from three-point range and finished with 14 points, while Diaz scored 13 points and Brush had 10 points. Shannon tallied eight points and a team-leading five rebounds before fouling out. Mason Matson led all players with 16 points while Schramm grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Wartburg.
The Scots host UW-Stout on Wednesday, Nov. 12 in the home opener. The game is set to start at 7:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.
