NORTHFIELD, Minn. – A pair of rookies had stellar collegiate debuts in propelling the Carleton College men's basketball team to an 82-67 victory over visiting North Central University. First-year Isaac Tessier (White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake) poured in a game-high 27 points—23 of them in the second half—and classmate Jeremy Beckler (Lino Lakes, Minn./White Bear Lake) added a double-double by tallying 23 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three blocks and two assists.
 
"We thought it was a solid start for a first game," said Carleton head coach Guy Kalland. "Our guys covered the stat sheet pretty well for our first time out. With where we're at during this point of the season, it was pretty solid basketball."
 
Carleton (1-0) dominated on the interior in building a 50-20 edge for points in the paint. The Knights connected on 46 percent of their attempts and limited the Rams (0-3) to 34 percent shooting overall.
 
Alex Battist (So./Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) was the third Knight in double figures, narrowly missing a double-double of his own as he posted 18 points and nine boards.
 
Point guard Henry Bensen (Sr./Roseville, Minn./Roseville) accounted for seven points, seven rebounds, five assists, and a steal in addition to limiting the Ram's leading scorer this season, Micah Filer, to only four points on 1-of-9 shooting.
 
The production of Tessier, Beckler, Battist, and Bensen was needed as returning All-Region performer Kent Hanson (Sr./St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Academy) was limited to only four points in the contest.
 
The game was knotted 26-26 with 5:15 left in the first half before Battist's layup sparked Carleton on a 15-6 run to close the period. That spurt was capped by Bensen's half-court heave at the buzzer.
 
After North Central pulled to within 66-58 with 4:20 still to play in the second half, Tessier scored the game's next nine points to put the game out of reach.
 
Justin Castro tallied 16 points to lead four North Central players in double figures.

DID YOU KNOW?  Since the start of the 2006-07 campaign, Carleton Men's Basketball has seen six rookies score 23+ points in a game… Issac Tessier and Jeremy Beckler both made that list for their performances in the season opener:

Pts — Name — Opponent — Date
30 — Kent Hanson — at Macalester — 2/8/17
27 — Matthew Stritzel — at Macalester — 12/9/17
27 — Issac Tessier — vs North Central — 11/12/19
26 — Tianen Chen — vs. Whitworth — 11/30/13
24 — Peter Bakker-Arkema — vs. Augsburg — 11/15/14
23 — Jeremy Beckler — vs North Central — 11/12/19
 
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS: Carleton will play 11 of its next 13 games away from home, a stretch that begins with a visit to No. 12-ranked Saint John's University on Wed., Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.