NORTHFIELD, Minn. - Led by 19 points apiece from Matt Banovetz (Jr./Minneapolis, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) and Beck Page (Sr./Longmont, Colo./Longmont), the Carleton College men's basketball team defeated Macalester College, 75-60, to remain tied atop the MIAC standings.

"I was very pleased with our response today after a disappointing outcome on Wednesday," said Carleton head coach Ryan Kershaw. "The guys had a great practice yesterday, and it carried over into our performance today, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. We got some great contributions from guys up and down the roster, which speaks to the versatility and depth we have within our team."

In what has become a familiar pattern, Carleton (12-2, 7-2 MIAC) took a few minutes to get its bearings. Luckily, Macalester (8-5, 5-4 MIAC) also took a few shots to heat up after an easy layup on its opening possession. The game remained deadlocked through the majority of the opening period, with the lead changing hands 15 times.
 
Trailing 24-23, Carleton went on an 11-0 run over a four-minute stretch and ended up taking a 34-27 lead into intermission. The Knight defense limited the Scots to only three points over the final 6:45 of the period.
 
Carleton scored the first seven points after halftime, part of a longer 25-5 surge over the opening seven minutes of the second half to build its largest advantage of the day, a 27-point margin at 59-32 with 13:05 remaining in the contest.
 
All told, Carleton went on a 36-8 run spanning nearly 15 minutes of game action across parts of both stanzas.
 
Carleton point guard Luke Harris (So./Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) did not miss a shot from the field, going 7-of-7 en route to a 15-point, 10-rebound stat line as he notched his first career double-double. The sophomore also led the Knights with five assists. Banovetz nearly matched him with nine boards, but added three assists and three steals. Page's shot was sharp all afternoon, as the senior sharpshooter went 7-of-10 (70 percent) from the field, including 4-of-6 from deep, and converted his lone attempt at the charity stripe.
 
Jeremy Beckler (Sr./Lino Lakes, Minn./White Bear Lake) was the fourth Knight in double figures, chipping in 11 points as he moved into 19th on the team's all-time scoring list at 1,113 points.
 
Caleb Williams put on a show for the visitors, tallying a game-high 28 points including five 3-pointers. The junior added three assists, a block, and a steal. His efforts were for naught, as no other Scot reached double figures.
 
Carleton shot 46 percent overall and 35 percent (9-of-26) beyond the arc. Macalester connected at a 42 percent clip and made 9-of-31 (29 percent) from 3-point range. Neither side shot well at the charity stripe, but the Knights finished 14-of-26 (54 percent) compared to 3-of-11 (27 percent) from the Scots.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton heads to Collegeville, Minn., to take on Saint John's University on Monday, Jan 16. The two teams are tied atop the MIAC after sporting 7-2 conference records. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.