MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team spent its Valentine's Day at Concordia College (Minn.). The Cobbers beat the Scots 95-64 to advance to 17-6 overall on the season and 9-5 in the MIAC. Concordia has clinched the playoffs and will look to push its way into better seeding in its remaining games. The Scots fall to 7-17 overall and 2-13 in the conference.

The Cobbers came out hot in the first half. A quick 9-0 run prompted a timeout for the Scots, after which sophomore guard Joaquin Aguillon (San Rafael, Calif./The Branson School) scored Macalester's first points of the game with a three-point jumper. First-year forward Javier Diaz (Lake Oswego, Ore./Tualatin) scored the next six for the Scots, aided by Aguillon, who stole the ball to start a fast break that ended in a Diaz layup and assisted on a turnaround paint jumper from Diaz. In turn, Diaz repaid the favor with a steal that led to a fast break layup for Aguillon.

As the Cobbers' lead started to grow, first-year guard Noah Hamburge (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) and junior forward Kyle Jilla (Dallas, Texas/Plano West) both hit threes to keep Mac in contact, but the Scots ultimately entered halftime down 51-24. Macalester shot 3-for-14 from three in the half, while Concordia shot 9-for-16. Diaz led the Scots with eight points, followed by Aguillon with seven.

Macalester found some energy to start the second half and rattled off an 11-0 run led by senior forward Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier). After a made free throw from first-year guard Jamal Randle (St. Paul, Minn./Great River School) Shannon stole the ball from Concordia's Jackson Loge, hit a layup, went back down, stole the ball from Loge again and hit another layup. A three and free throw from Aguillon followed by another layup from Shannon put the Scots back within 16 points.

However, the Cobbers refused to leave the door open any longer for Mac. Concordia answered the Scots' run with one of its own: a 20-6 burst to regenerate its lead. During that stretch, Diaz scored all six points for Macalester with two layups and two free throws.

The Scots' three-point struggles continued in the second half: senior forward Ryan Brush (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) hit Mac's second three-pointer of the half with 4:30 left to play. First-year guard Gabriel Sahely (Austin, Texas/St. Stephens) hit another with two seconds left to make the Scots 3-for-16 in the period, while Concordia went 6-for-11. Despite the Scots' cold shooting, Concordia only outscored them 44-40 in the second half. The Scots outscored the Cobbers 15-3 in fast break points and 14-2 in points off turnovers.

On the game, Macalester's bench outscored Concordia's 28-19. While Mac only committed two fewer turnovers overall, the Scots scored seven more points off turnovers than Concordia. In the end, Mac shot 6-for-30 from three, while Concordia shot 15-for-27.

Diaz led the team with 16 points, two rebounds and two steals. Shannon followed him with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Randle posted six points, five rebounds and seven assists without a single turnover. Aguillon finished with 11 points and three assists. Jilla had three points and seven rebounds.

Macalester concludes its season next week on Saturday, Feb. 21 against Hamline. The game starts at 3 p.m. in the Leonard Center.