ORLANDO, Fla. – Kent Hanson (Sr./St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Academy) and Alex Battist (So./Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) posted double-doubles, three Knights scored at least 20 points, and five players finished in double figures as the Carleton College men's basketball team wrapped up the pre-Christmas portion of its schedule with a 98-79 triumph over Finlandia University (Mich.) on day two of the RDV Sportsplex Classic.
 
Carleton (4-5) posted a season-high point total as the Knights shot 51 percent in the game while limiting the Lions (0-12) to a 35-percent success rate.
 
Hanson finished with 21 points and a career-high 17 rebounds to go along with five assists as he notched his second double-double of the week and the 18th of his career. Battist added 14 points and 13 boards in registering his second double-double of the year.
 
Jeremy Beckler (Lino Lakes, Minn./White Bear Lake) contributed a game-high 23 points, while fellow first-year Isaac Tessier (White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake) finished with 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
 
Beck Page (Fy./Longmont, Colo./Longmont) was the fifth Knight in double figures as he drained five 3-pointers to account for his career-high 15 points off the bench.
 
Carleton never trailed in this one and quickly built a double-digit lead. The Lions pulled to within 40-37 with 4:15 remaining in the first half, but the Knights closed the stanza with a 16-7 run and carried a 56-44 advantage into intermission.
 
Carleton maintained at least a 12-point lead throughout the second half.
 
FOR THE FOES: Dylan Underwood and Kaleb Kirksey notched 17 points apiece to pace Finlandia, the former doing so in 33 minutes off the bench. River Shumate added 10 points off the bench. Eight different Lions made 3-pointers as Finlandia went 13-for-40 from long range.
 
20-20-20 VISION x 2: This was the second time in nine days that three Carleton players accumulated 20+ points in a game as Beckler (27 points), Battist (20), and Hanson (20) achieved the feat in a 78-55 triumph at Concordia-Moorhead on Dec. 11.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: The 98 points on Thursday are tied for the 20th-highest scoring output in team history. This is the most points scored by the Knights since their 101-76 victory over Macalester on Dec. 9, 2017…… Carleton averaged 94.3 points in three games this week. Thursday's season-high total comes on the heels of a 97-91 win over Bethany Lutheran on Monday evening and a 94-88 overtime loss to Hope College on Wednesday. This is the most points (283) Carleton has scored over a three-game spell since tallying 298 points from Feb. 5-12, 1996. [That stretch included a 100-78 win over Concordia, 87-71 triumph over Macalester, and a 111-104 triumph at Bethel.]
 
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS: Carleton closes out 2019 with a non-conference tilt at Viterbo University on Monday, Dec. 30.