NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team could not overcome a season-low 32.8-percent shooting night in a 58-56 loss to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) foe Macalester College on Wednesday evening at Skoglund Center.
Macalester (6-9, 3-7 MIAC) held St. Olaf (8-8, 4-7 MIAC) to 21-for-64 shooting from the field, including 9-for-27 (33.3 percent) from behind the arc, and got a game-high 21 points from Caleb Williams to salvage a split of the regular-season meetings in the series. The Oles led by six with just over 12 minutes to go before the Scots went on a decisive 11-1 run over a five-minute stretch to take the lead for good.
Williams scored 12 of his 21 points in the second half for Macalester, which also got 12 points and seven rebounds from Gabriel Ramos and 11 points and nine boards from Coby Gold. The Scots shot just 35.7 percent (20-for-56) from the field and 23.5 percent (4-for-17) from behind the arc but made 14-of-15 (93.3 percent) of their free throws in the win.
Senior
Dominic Bledsoe hit three three-pointers in the final 49 seconds to finish with 14 points on 5-for-9 from the field, including going 4-for-6 from behind the arc. Senior
Nathan Hendler scored 12 of his 14 points in the opening half for St. Olaf, while sophomore
Connor Martin added 12 points.
After Hendler scored the game's first five points, Macalester went on an 8-0 run to take an early three-point lead. A three-pointer by junior
Michael Meriggioli and a three-point play by Martin helped the Oles to a 15-10 lead with 8:43 to go in the half, but the Scots countered with a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to go ahead, 20-17.
St. Olaf scored the next 10 points, including three-pointers by Hendler and Meriggioli, to take its biggest lead of the game at 27-20 inside the final minute before Williams ended the half with a jumper to cut Macalester's deficit to five. Hendler was 5-for-7 from the field in the opening 20 minutes on his way to the 12 first-half points.
Martin scored seven-straight Ole points early in the second half as St. Olaf maintained its seven-point lead with 16:45 remaining. The Oles led 39-33 with 12:12 to go before the Scots went on an 11-1 run to take a 44-40 lead with seven minutes to play.
A three-point play by Williams and two layups by Gold kept Macalester ahead by six with 1:08 to go, but Bledsoe hit three three-pointers in the final 49 seconds to keep St. Olaf in with a chance. Bledsoe's third late three-pointer came with two seconds to go and got the Oles within two, but the Scots threw a long inbounds pass to run out the time.
St. Olaf plays four of its next five games on the road, starting with a trip to Gustavus on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m.
