MANKATO, Minn. – The Carleton College men's basketball team had its four-game win streak halted with an 87-71 loss in a non-conference affair at Bethany Lutheran College. This was the Knights' final game of 2023.
 
Carleton (6-4, 3-2 MIAC) shot 34.2 percent for the game, its second-lowest mark of the season. The Knights could not find a rhythm from 3-point land, shooting only 24.0 percent (6-of-25) from long range, the third-lowest success rate of the campaign. Carleton went 15-of-18 from the charity stripe and picked up 13 steals, leading to 24 points off turnovers.
 
Luke Harris led the way for Carleton in the losing effort, pacing the Knights in points with 29, rebounds with eight, steals with six, and assists with four. This was his seventh game of the season with at least 20 points, and the six steals were a career-high and tied for sixth most in a game in recorded Carleton history (see chart below). Alex Gibbens was the only other Knight in double figures, scoring 10.
 
Carleton started out on the front foot, working their way to a 21-10 lead. The Vikings (7-2, 2-0 UMAC) came roaring back and tied the game at 23-23 with a Winston Knox floater with 8:00 still to play in the first half. The lead changed hands four times in the next four-and-a-half minutes, but Bethany Lutheran ripped off a 13-2 run over the stanza's final 3:21 to take a 47-37 lead at intermission.
 
A slow start to the second half left both teams scoreless until Harris nailed a 3-pointer from the wing with 17:41 remaining. Carleton had briefly cut the lead down to three, but Bethany Lutheran responded and eventually extended the advantage back to nine with a powerful fast-break dunk from Dominik Bangu. Carleton clawed the deficit down to three again with a Sam Koelling layup at 7:07 but would nt get that close for the remainder of the contest as the Vikings pulled away to capture an 87-71 victory, scoring the most points by any Carleton opponent this year.
 
The Vikings had four players score in double digits. Jax Madson led with 24 points, Bangu had 19 with four steals, Hunter Nielsen notched 16 in a double-double effort—thanks to 15 rebounds—and Xavier Patterson scored 13 with seven assists. The home team shot 54.8 percent overall, 40.9 percent from three (9-of-22), and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line (10-of-15).
 
Up Next for the Knights:
Carleton will enjoy the holiday break before resuming play on Wednesday, Jan. 3, taking on conference foe Hamline University at West Gym. The tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. 

Most steals (single game) in recorded Carleton MBB history
9   --   Steve Taylor, at Saint John's (12/5/90)
8   --   Zach Johnson, vs. Saint Mary's (1/10/07)
7   --   Dan Forkrud, at St. Olaf (12/10/03)
7   --   Zach Johnson, at Simpson (11/23/07)
7   --   Scott Theisen, vs. Hamline (2/16/13)
6   --   Paul Thom, at Grinnell (11/24/84)
6   --   Jeff Jonas, vs. Bethel (2/1/89)
6   --   Steve Taylor, at Whittier (11/21/90)
6   --   Steve Taylor, vs. Saint John's (1/23/91)
6   --   Steve Taylor, at St. Thomas (2/12/92)
6   --   Scott Christensen, at Saint Mary's (2/9/02)
6   --   Zach Johnson vs. Hamline (12/03/05)
6   --   Mike Kootsikas, vs. Hamline (2/5/07)
6   --   Scott Theisen, vs. Hamline (12/1/10)
6   --   Luke Harris, at Bethany Lutheran (12/15/23)