WINONA, Minn. – Point guard
Matt Drake scored 23 of his game-high 32 points after intermission as the Carleton College men's basketball team erased a nine-point second-half deficit and picked up an 83-75 road win over Saint Mary's University.
The result keeps Carleton (11-7, 7-3 MIAC) in a tie with Augsburg University for third place in the MIAC standings with only six games remaining in the regular season.
Drake was 9-of-17 overall—including 5-of-9 from 3-point range—and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. This was his 11th game this season with at least 20 points and the second-highest scoring total of his career (behind a 38-point effort at Martin Luther in mid-December).
Josh Engelberg contributed 19 points, and
Sam Koelling notched his sixth double-double of the year thanks to 15 points and 10 boards.
Tobias Averill stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, seven rebounds, a team-high four assists, and a steal.
Saint Mary's (1-18, 0-10 MIAC) set season bests for 3-pointer made (15) and 3-point percentage (.429), but it was not enough to overcome Carleton's 36-22 edge in points scored in the paint.
The Cardinals shot .431 for the game, while Carleton finished the contest shooting .491 overall and 9-of-22 (.409) from beyond the arc. The Knights committed only eight total fouls, leading to minimal trips to the free throw line for the hosts, who went 4-of-5 at the charity stripe. Carleton was more effective in getting to the line and made 18-of-21 (.857) attempts.
A back-and-forth opening half saw eight lead changes as Saint Mary's built a seven-point margin on by multiple occasions, while Carleton used a 10-0 run to create a 21-16 lead with 11:56 left before halftime. The Cardinals made 8-of their first-16 attempts from beyond the arc and carried a 41-39 advantage into the locker room.
The hosts still owned a 65-56 lead with 8:20 to play before Carleton embarked on a 16-0 stretch over the next four minutes. Drake sparked the rally with back-to-back 3-pointers and tallied 10 points overall during the game-changing run.
Jackson Harvey answered with four straight points to bring the Cardinals back within 72-69 with 3:15 still on the clock, but Drake drained another 3-pointer and added a driving layup on the next Carleton possession to keep the Knights in front. Engelberg and Drake made four free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
Harvey, Sawyer Markham, and Reid Weckwerth each scored 16 points to lead Saint Mary's.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton hosts Augsburg for a scheduled 3:00 p.m. contest on Saturday, Jan. 31. That will be the second half of a women's-men's doubleheader at West Gym.
