WINONA, Minn. – The Carleton College men's basketball team saw its season-opening four-game win streak snapped with an 85-66 loss at Saint Mary's University.
 
Carleton (4-1, 2-1 MIAC) could not overcome a cold shooting performance in the first half as the Knights connected at only a 31 percent clip over the first 20 minutes and trailed 42-23 at intermission. They bounced back and shot 54 percent after halftime, including 9-of-18 from beyond the arc, but Carleton got no closer than 14 points during the second stanza as the teams played even on the scoreboard, 43-43, after the break.
 
Saint Mary's (2-4, 1-3 MIAC) shot 48 percent overall, including a 14-of-28 (50 percent) showing from long range. That was the most 3-pointers surrendered by the Knights in nearly a year (Augsburg hit 17 triples on Dec. 4, 2021).
 
Owen Ziegler did the bulk of the damage for the Cardinals. Heading into this week, he averaged 5.8 points per game in his career and 10.0 points this season, but he suddenly found success against the two teams from Northfield. Ziegler dropped a then-career best 26 points against St. Olaf on Wednesday only to better that with a 32-point effort against the Knights on Saturday—including 21 points in the second half—as he was 8-for-14 overall from 3-point range.
 
Raheem Anthony added 25 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists for the hosts, who snapped a four-game slide.
 
Alex Gibbens (Jr./New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) led four Carleton players in double figures with 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. The MIAC's top two scorers heading into the weekend, Luke Harris (So./Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) and Jeremy Beckler (Sr./Lino Lakes, Minn./White Bear Lake), each had 11 points as they went a combined 8-of-22 from the field. Chuck Sweat (Jr./Glencoe, Ill./New Trier) added 11 points off the bench, with reserves John Carragher (Jr./Glencoe, Ill./New Trier) and Brandon Szeto (So./San Marino, Calif./Polytechnic School) contributing a season-best six points and career-high five points, respectively.
 
Neither side led by more than three points during the early going, and the score was knotted 12-12 when Carragher drained a 3-ponter with 9:45 still to play in the first half. Saint Mary's answered that bucket with a 16-2 run over the next four minutes, completely changing the complexion of the contest. Carleton would face a double-digit deficit the remainder of the day.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton's season-opening six-game road trip concludes with a 7:00 p.m. contest at Martin Luther College on Monday, Dec. 5. The Knights will then return to West Gym for their home opener versus Hamline University on Wednesday, Dec. 7.