ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team opened the new year with a non-conference game against UW-Superior, losing a hard-fought battle 78-73 Friday afternoon in the Leonard Center. The Scots are now 5-7 overall, while the Yellowjackets improve to 4-9.

The game was tight throughout, with neither team leading by more than seven points. Macalester opened the game with a 10-3 run that saw first year guard Noah Hamburge (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) make his first two attempts from three-point range. UW-Superior came back and eventually built a 26-21 advantage with 8:14 on the clock. Three baskets by senior forward Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) and a three from first year guard Owen Walther (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School) put the Scots up, 30-26. After the Yellowjackets pulled to within one point twice, a basket from first year forward Javier Diaz (Lake Oswego, Ore./Tualatin) made it a three-point lead for Macalester, 36-33. But Landen Thomer scored for UW-Superior before the end of the half to make the halftime score 36-35 Scots. Shannon led Macalester with 10 points in the half, with Hamburge making 3-of-4 from deep.

With Macalester trailing 43-42 early in the second half, Hamburge nailed a three, then proceeded to record three steals on consecutive possessions that resulted in five points, giving the Scots their biggest lead of the second half, 50-43 with 13:08 to play. The Yellowjackets erased the deficit with a 19-8 run over the next seven-plus minutes to regain the upper hand, 62-58 with 5:44 left. Hamburge answered with his sixth three-pointer of the game, only to have Thomer respond with a three of his own. UW-Superior eventually pushed its lead up to seven, 73-66 with under three minutes to play. Four points from Shannon and a three by sophomore guard Joaquin Aguillon (San Rafael, Calif./The Branson School) helped Macalester pull to within two, 75-73 with 33 seconds left. But the Scots failed to score the rest of the way, and UW-Superior held on for the win.

Shannon led all players with 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field. He also recorded six rebounds, two assists and three steals. Hamburge matched his career high with 20 points, hitting 6-of-7 from three-point range while also tallying five assists and four steals. Junior guard Kyle Jilla (Dallas, Texas/Plano West) finished with 10 points and five rebounds, with Aguillon grabbing a team-best nine rebounds to go with seven points, five assists and three steals. Evan Bennett scored 19 points and Thomer had 17 points and 12 boards to pace the Yellowjackets.

Macalester turns around and plays a MIAC game on Saturday, Jan. 3 as Saint Mary's visits the Leonard Center. The opening tip is set for 3:00 p.m.