ST. PAUL, Minn. – Senior forward Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) registered 30 points and 10 rebounds, as the Macalester College men's basketball team defeated Saint Mary's University, 89-77 in a MIAC contest Saturday afternoon in the Leonard Center. The win is the first in conference play this season for the Scots, who are now 6-7 overall and 1-3 in the MIAC. The Cardinals drop to 1-12, 0-4 MIAC.

Macalester controlled the game early, building a 14-9 lead capped by a three from Shannon at the 14:20 mark. The lead was still five following a three-pointer by first year guard Jamal Randle (St. Paul, Minn./Great River School) that made the score 28-23 when Saint Mary's made a run. The Cardinals closed out the half on a 14-8 spree to take a 37-36 advantage into the halftime break. Shannon had 11 points in the first half, while sawyer Markham also scored 11 points to lead Saint Mary's.

Over the first 2:40 of the second half, Macalester used a 13-4 run that included four points apiece from Shannon and first year forward Javier Diaz (Lake Oswego, Ore./Tualatin) plus a three by junior guard Kyle Jilla (Dallas, Texas/Plano West) to take a 49-41 lead. After the Cardinals cut the lead to five, 51-46, the Scots seemingly put the game out of reach with a 25-7 run that made the score 76-53 with 7:15 to play. Shannon notched nine points in the run, with first year guard Owen Walther (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School) hitting a pair of threes.

The huge deficit did not deter Saint Mary's, which mounted an improbable comeback with a 20-4 run that brought the Cardinals to within seven, 80-73 with 2:03 remaining. Jilla answered with a conventional three-point play, and the Scots' defense didn't let Saint Mary's get any closer than eight points the rest of the way. Macalester shot 57.1 percent from the field in the second half while limiting the Cardinals to 35.3 percent shooting after halftime.

Shannon was 13-of-18 from the field en route to 30 points, his third game with at least 30 points this season. The leading scorer in the MIAC also grabbed 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season, and he added three assists, a block and a steal. Diaz registered 13 points and seven assists, while Hamburge and Jilla each scored 12 points. Hamburge grabbed a career-best nine rebounds, with Jilla adding eight boards and six assists. Reid Klug led Saint Mary's with 20 points.

The Scots head to Collegeville, Minn. on Wednesday, Jan. 7 to face Saint John's in a MIAC game. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.