ST. PAUL, Minn. – Led by the superb shooting of senior Kent Hanson (St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Academy), the Carleton College men's basketball team defeated Hamline University 71-54 on Wednesday. As a team, Carleton shot 51 percent from the field and connected on 7-of-14 three-point attempts with the hot shooting resulting in a wire-to-wire victory for the visitors.
 
Hanson finished the game with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting overall, including a 6-of-8 showing from beyond the arc. He also moved into seventh place on Carleton's all-time scoring list (SEE CHART BELOW).
 
The Knights matched their season-best defensive performance in limiting the Pipers to only 54 points as Hamline (2-10, 0-7) shot only 27 percent overall.
 
"It was a really solid defensive effort for 40 minutes tonight," said Carleton head coach Guy Kalland. "I thought we played inspired basketball on both ends of the floor."
 
Carleton raced out to an 18-7 lead and maintained at least a seven-point advantage over the remainder of the contest. Hanson scored 19 points in the first half as he drained 5-of-6 first-half 3-point attempts, helping his team to a 39-26 lead heading into intermission.  
 
Hamline started the second half with a 14-5 scoring run that cut Carleton's lead to 44-37 with 14 minutes remaining. Hanson answered with another 3-pointer on the Knights' next possession to stem the tide, and the Carleton lead grew as large as 19 points in the second half. The Knights enjoyed a distinct advantage on the interior, totaling a 36-14 edge in points in the paint on the evening.
 
Along with Hanson, Jeremy Beckler (Fy./Lino Lakes, Minn./White Bear Lake) and Alex Battist (So./Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) also reached double figures in scoring for the visitors. Beckler contributed 14 points, and Battist poured in 16 points. Point guard Henry Bensen (Sr./Roseville, Minn./Roseville) nearly notched a double-double, pulling down a career-high 10 rebounds to go with his eight points and five assists.
 
Hamline was paced by Michael Dillon, who grabbed nine rebounds in addition to his 14 points. Luke Siwek also hit double figures for the Pipers with 11 points.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS: Carleton heads across town to face rival St. Olaf College on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 1:00 p.m. Live audio will be available on KDHL 920AM in the Northfield/Faribault area and worldwide via athletics.carleton.edu.
 
MOST CAREER POINTS – CARLETON MEN'S BASKETBALL
1. -- 2,029 -- Zach Johnson (106 G) -- 2005-09
2. -- 1,967 -- Josh Wilhelm (97 G) -- 1995-99
3. -- 1,903 -- Gerrick Monroe (105 G) -- 1989-93
4. -- 1,467 -- Dan Forkrud  (108 G) -- 2002-06
5. -- 1,445 -- Kyle Beste (105 G) -- 2001-05
6. -- 1,440 -- Ivan Grimm (64 G) -- 1958-60
7. -- 1,434 -- Kent Hanson (87 G) -- 2016-pres.
8. -- 1,423 -- Kevin Grow (103 G) -- 2014-18
9. -- 1,366 -- Scott Krohn (105 G) -- 1989-93
10. -- 1,356 -- Mark Wandmacher (70 G) -- 1981-84