ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team traveled down Grand Avenue to face an old foe, taking on the University of St. Thomas in an exhibition game Wednesday night at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. The Scots made it interesting by draining 16 threes, but the Tommies came out on top, 119-82 in a game that counts against St. Thomas's record, which is now 2-2.
The Scots and Tommies used to play regularly when both were members of the MIAC. St. Thomas left the conference in 2021 to transition to Division I.
Macalester stayed with the Tommies early, getting a pair of three-pointers from junior guard
Logan Davis (Kensington, Md./Bethesda Chevy Chase) and threes from sophomore guards
Owen Walther (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School) and
Jamal Randle (St. Paul, Minn./Great School) to trail, 20-18 with 12:21 on the clock. Another three-pointer from sophomore guard
Noah Hamburge (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) answered a 5-0 St. Thomas run, then a conventional three-point play by first year forward
Luke Thompson (Waxhaw, N.C./Covenant Day School) and a three from Walther kept the Scots within five, 37-32 with eight minutes left in the half. But the Tommies closed out the half on a 17-10 run to take a 54-42 advantage at the half.
Walther made all three of his shots from deep, as Macalester shot 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from beyond the arc and 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the field overall. St. Thomas held a commanding 19-9 edge in rebounding and forced 10 Macalester turnovers. Thompson had seven points, while Davis, Hamburge and Randle each scored six points.
Feeling the heat a bit from their neighbors on Snelling Avenue, the Tommies opened the second half on fire with a 10-0 run to lead 64-42 just 90 seconds into the half. Hamburge's third three of the game ended the run, and threes from Davis and Randle kept the Scots within striking distance. Walther and senior guard
Kaden Holdbrook (Palo Alto, Calif./Gunn) buried threes to answer a St. Thomas trey to make the score 79-59 with 12:25 to play. Later in the half, Holdbrook drained another three to keep it a 20-point deficit, 92-72 with 7:26 remaining.
Despite the torrid shooting from long range, Macalester eventually fell off the pace, with the Tommies using a 14-5 run to lead, 106-77 with 4:25 left, eventually cruising to a 119-82 win.
The Scots made 16 of their 26 shots from three-point range for 61.5 percent and shot 56.0 percent from the field overall. Davis finished with four threes and 17 points to lead Macalester, while Walther hit 4-of-4 from beyond the arc for 12 points. Holdbrook also scored 12 points and had four assists and a team-best five rebounds. Thompson, Hamburge and Randle each scored nine points, while Aguillon tallied six points, six assists and two steals. Brogan Madson led all players with 23 points for St. Thomas.
Macalester resumes its schedule with a home game against Luther College on Saturday, Nov. 14. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.
