WINONA, Minn. – After falling behind 12-0 to start the game, the Carleton College men's basketball team needed every last second to pull out a 75-73 victory at Saint Mary's Univeristy, but that is what the Knights did courtesy of a buzzer-beating tip-in from senior Chuck Sweat.
 
Luke Harris led the way for the Knights (8-6, 5-4 MIAC), scoring 22 of his game-high 27 points during the second half. He came up big at the free-throw line, going 12-of-14 overall, while grabbing seven rebounds and two steals. Matt Banovetz garnered 17 points—a baker's dozen after intermission—on 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Besides the game-winner, Sweat drained a trio of 3-pointers to score a season-best 11 points on the day. All-around performer Spencer Goetz tallied eight points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
 
The Knights looked out-of-sync after the opening tip, failing to score until the 13:53 mark as Saint Mary's (3-12, 2-8 MIAC) jumped out to a 12-0 start. Goetz finally snapped the drought, hitting a runner in the lane. Carleton would whittle the lead down to as little as one point after Goetz canned a baseline jumper the made the score 23-22 with 4:59 remaining in the stanza, but the Cardinals stretched their advantage again over the final few minutes of the first half and took a 38-28 lead into halftime.
 
The Knights started better in the second half, and with 13:45 still to play, Sweat drilled a corner triple to tie the game for the first time, then came back down the floor and hit a trey from the other corner to give Carleton their first lead, 48-45 with 13:00 on the clock. The game remained tight from there, with neither team finding an edge of more than five points over the remaining minutes.
 
With 55.5 seconds remaining, Saint Mary's held a 71-67 lead. Banovetz nailed a 3-pointer and
Then, Harris converted a circus layup through a foul and made the free-throw to give Carleton a 73-71 lead with 33.9 ticks. On the other end, Cardinals' forward Bruce Lockwood yanked down an offensive rebound and put up a tough layup to tie the game with 12.4 seconds left. Coming out of a timeout, Banovetz backed down his defender and put up a jumper that missed. However, Sweat was in the right place at the right time, tipping the putback off the glass and in, giving the Knights a much-needed win.
 
Carleton overcame its slow start and shot 44.1 percent overall, 40.0 percent (10-of-25) from beyond the arc, and 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the line. The Knights had a nice game on the glass, grabbing 43 rebounds compared to 26 for the opposition.
 
Saint Mary's shot 43.6 percent on the game, making 7-of-19 attempts (36.8 percent) from beyond the 3-point line and 18-of-24 free throws (75.0 percent). The Cardinals were able to put up 21 points off 16 Carleton turnovers and led for nearly 75 percent of the game, but to no avail. Four Cardinals were in double figures, with Cameron Mallory finishing on 20 points, Owen Zeigler with 17, Bruce Lockwood with 12, and Breyton Buysman with 10.
 
Up Next for the Knights:
Carleton returns to its home hardwood, taking on Bethel University at 7:00 PM on Monday, Jan. 15.