STORM LAKE, Iowa – Trailing by seven points with just over two minutes to go, the Carleton College men's basketball team rallied for a 76-74 win at Buena Vista University thanks to clutch scoring from Josh Engelberg and 22 points by Matt Drake.
 
Engelberg hit the go-ahead shot with just 23 seconds remaining and finished with 15 total points on 6-for-12 shooting, handing out a game-best four assists. Drake made 6-of-7 triples en route to his 22 points and tallied three assists with three steals. Sam Koelling went 6-for-10 from the floor to score 15 with a block and steal, and Tobias Averill scored 14 points. Andrew Weber had three more steals as he and Drake tied for the most swipes by any Knight in a game this year.
 
Engelberg splashed a corner 3-pointer on the game's first possession, and Carleton (7-5) stayed on the front foot early, leading 20-10 at the 11:14 mark after a pair of free throws by Omar Kaba. Buena Vista (8-4) sliced into the lead and trailed 24-21 with 6:27 remaining in the opening stanza when Adam Bryte hit a triple. Carleton scored the next six points, and the Beavers responded with an 8-0 run of their own, whittling the Knights' lead to 30-29 with 2:21 left in the half. Jayden Brink's layup shortly before the halftime horn sent the teams into the locker room tied at 33-33.
 
To open the second half, Buena Vista took advantage of back-to-back turnovers for a 38-33 advantage. The Knights swiftly re-tied the game, and the two squads went back and forth for the next five minutes. Carleton got its first lead of the second half when Averill knocked down a 3-pointer despite being fouled, converting the ensuing free throw for the ever-rare four-point play and a 48-46 Knights' edge at the 13:54 mark.
 
Neither team led by more than two scores for the next six minutes, and a Drake triple with 8:19 remaining tied the score at 62-62. The Beavers broke the tie and embarked on a 10-2 run, opening up a 72-64 lead with 4:46 remaining. Carleton roared back with a 9-0 burst, holding Buena Vista scoreless over a 3-minute, 56-second span. Drake canned a pair of big 3-pointers, and Koelling nailed a teardrop in the lane to give the Knights a 73-72 advantage with 50 seconds to go.
 
Kyle Stenberg hit a pair of free throws to retake the lead for the hosts, but Engelberg laid one in high off the glass to put Carleton up 75-74 with 23 seconds left. The Knights made two crucial defensive stops, and Carleton closed its 2025 calendar with a victory.
 
Carleton shot 51.8 percent from the floor, its sixth time in the last seven games hitting more than half of their shots. The Knights made 11-of-25 shots (44.0 percent) beyond the arc and went 7-of-11 on free throws (63.6 percent). Buena Vista posted a 43.9 percent shooting mark overall and made 31.4 percent (11-for-35) of its shots from downtown and 86.7 percent (13-for-15) at the line. The Knights won the battle of the boards, 30-29, and doled out 16 assists. Carleton pilfered a season-high 10 steals.
 
Carter Sievers led the Beavers, pouring in a game-high 27 points and hitting five 3-pointers. Sternberg scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds. Jackson Jones totaled 13 points.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton rings in the new year with a chance to retain the Goat Trophy, as rival St. Olaf College visits West Gym on Saturday, Jan. 3. The 3:00 p.m. game comes as the second half of a women's-men's twin bill.