NORTHFIELD, Minn. - A dominant performance on both ends of the floor from Luke Harris (Fy./Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont), as well as strong offensive efforts from Jeremy Beckler (Jr./Lino Lakes, Minn./White Bear Lake) and Alex Battist (Sr./Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) led the Carleton College men's basketball team past Macalester College, 70-61, in the first game of 2022 for either side.
 
Harris scored 16 points to go along with career highs of four steals and six rebounds, while Battist matched Harris' 16-point effort and Beckler paced Carleton with 18 points of his own. Beck Page (Jr./Longmont, Colo./Longmont) was the fourth Knight to score in double figures, contributing 11 points of his own.
 
"A nice team win tonight against a worthy opponent," said Carleton head coach Guy Kalland. "Our guys made some good adjustments after a bit of a lackluster showing in the first half. We got a number of big contributions from a variety of different guys on both ends of the floor, and were able to close it out down the stretch."
 
Both Carleton (7-3, 4-2 MIAC) and Macalester (4-7, 1-6 MIAC) got off to sluggish starts offensively, scoring a combined 45 points in the first 17 minutes of play. The Scots led 23-22 before closing the first half with a 12-4 run, capped off by a buzzer-beating 3-point shot from Caleb Williams that gave Macalester a nine-point lead at nine at intermission. Scots' big man Shane Anderson scored 12 first-half points, pacing all players over the first 20 minutes.
 
Carleton made the necessary adjustments, and thanks to scoring contributions from multiple players and an improved defensive showing, the Knights outscored the Scots 44-26 in the second half.
 
The hosts regained the lead for the first time since early in the first half when Beckler drained a 3-pointer with 12:56 remaining. After more back-and-forth play, John Carragher (So./Glencoe, Ill./New Trier) hit a three of his own to give the Knights a 50-48 lead with 7:36 left in the contest.
 
While the Scots managed to tie the game four times over the next 2:24 of game time, Carleton would not trail at any point for the rest of the evening. The Scots were unable to get many defensive stops down the stretch as the Knights shot 58 percent after halftime, including a 5-for-9 showing from beyond the arc. Battist gave the Knights a 64-59 lead with 1:29 to go, and it was free throws the rest of the way for Carleton.
 
The Knights shot 46 percent overall and 39 percent (7-of-18) from long range, while Macalester made 45 percent of its attempts and was 10-for-34 (29 percent) from 3-point range. Carleton made 11 free throws, while the Scots went only 1-of-7 at the charity stripe.
 
Caleb Williams had 17 points to lead Macalester, while Anderson finished with 14 points.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton heads on the road to Winona to take on Saint Mary's University on Saturday, Jan. 8 with a slated 3:00 p.m. tipoff in game two of the women's-men's doubleheader.