NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Four players finished in double figures, led by Sam Koelling's 16 points and Matt Banovetz's double-double, as the Carleton College men's basketball team secured a 76-74 victory over Macalester College.
 
With the victory, Carleton (16-8, 13-6 MIAC), which has won 9 of its last 11 games, clinched a top-three seed in next week's MIAC Playoffs.
 
Koelling had an efficient, all-around performance, going 5-of-6 from the field — including a pair of 3-pointers — along with six boards, four assists, two blocks, and two steals. Banovetz finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Marking his ninth career double-double and fifth of the season. Alex Gibbens hit three late free throws to ice the win and finished with 13 points overall. Spencer Goetz was the fourth Knight in double figures, collecting 12 points.
 
Carleton held a narrow 43-42 lead after the opening 20-minute frame that witnessed seven lead changes. Both teams shot the ball well, specifically from deep. As expected, Macalester (9-15, 5-14 MIAC), which averages a conference-best 10.9 made 3-pointers per game, drilled 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) long-range attempts before halftime. On the other end of the court, the Knights canned 7-of-44 attempts from downtown.
 
Despite leading for almost 15 minutes, the Knights were unable to gain much separation as Macalester kept the game close as a result of 15 and 12 points, respectively, from Caleb Williams and Eric Wentz in the first half.
 
Macalester's hot 3-point shooting from the first half did not carry over to start the second stanza, as the Scots missed their first seven attempts from deep.
 
The Knights led 61-57 with 8:00 to play, when the Scots' lights-out deep ball came back. The visitors went on a 12-3 run after drilling four consecutive three balls, giving Macalester a 69-64 lead with 5:40 still to play.
 
The Carleton defense stiffened down the stretch, and the Knights closed the game on a 12-5 run over the final five minutes.
 
Banovetz, who started the game cold, scored the next seven points for the Knights, including a steal that led to an old-fashioned three-point play and a top-of-the-key 3-pointer. He later added a free throw that knotted the game at 71-71 with 2:36 to play.
 
Neither team would score for two minutes, and Carleton's defense forced the Scots into a shot clock violation with under a minute to play. Out of a Knights' timeout, Miles Frisch dropped a reverse layup off the glass, giving the Knights a two-point lead with 37 seconds to play.
 
The Knights defense came up with another stop, forcing Williams into a contested three, and  Macalester quickly fouled Gibbens, who knocked down both free throws to give the Knights a two-possession lead with seven seconds to play.
 
The Scots hustled it up the floor and Gold sank a deep 3-pointer, leaving three seconds on the clock. Gibbens was fouled on the inbounds pass went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe. With 0.4 seconds on the clock, Williams' bid for the game-winner came up short.
 
Williams dropped a game-high 25 for the Scots this afternoon, followed by Wentz with 15 and Gold with 14.
 
Macalester shot 28-of-62 (45.2 percent) from the field, 13-of-31 from downtown (41.9 percent) and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. The Knights hit 24-of their-52 field goals (46.2 percent), including 11-of-22 from deep (50 percent) and 17-of-21 from the charity stripe (81 percent).
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton closes out the regular season by hosting Saint Mary's University on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 3:00 p.m. A win will give the Knights the No. 2 seed in the MIAC Playoffs and a first-round bye, while a loss drops Carleton to the No. 3 seed.
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