MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Carleton College men's basketball team lost a heartbreaker at Concordia College-Moorhead, losing 77-73 on a buzzer-beating 4-point play.
In a game that featured two of the MIAC's top three scorers, it was defensive stalwart
Tobias Averill who stood out for Carleton (12-9, 8-4 MIAC). The sophomore wing scored a career-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting, making 5-of-9 attempts from 3-point range.
Matt Drake scored 13 points and collected a career-best eight assists.
Sam Koelling notched 12 points, and
Josh Engelberg added 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
The Knights raced out to a 7-2 lead to begin the night thanks to a pair of Koelling buckets, but Concordia (15-6, 7-5 MIAC) authored 15-5 response run to earn a 17-12 lead with 10:55 to go in the opening half. The Cobbers held onto the lead for much of the remainder of the frame, but Carleton flipped the script in the stanza's final 54 seconds. Averill hit a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to tie the game at 30 with 20 seconds left, and a fast-break slam by Koelling sent the Knights into the break up 32-30.
Carleton began the second half the way they ended the first – with a run. Engelberg concluded a 9-2 jaunt with a corner trey at 17:28, putting the visitors up 41-32. The Knights held the edge, and another Engelberg 3-pointer gave the Knights a game-high 10-point lead at 53-43 with 12:25 to go. The Cobbers would not go quietly, however. Over a nine-minute span, Concordia unleashed a 25-6 counterpunch that put them up 68-61 with 3:38 remaining in the game.
The Knights dragged the game back, and Averill nailed a clutch triple with eight seconds remaining to square the game at 73-73. Each team then turned the ball over, giving Concordia possession with two seconds remaining. The Cobbers captured the game with a banked 3-pointer from Peyton Belka as the clock expired. Belka drew a foul on his attempt and hit his free throw to set the final score.
Carleton shot 45.8 percent overall and 41.7 percent from three (10-for-24), and connected on 9-of-10 (90.0 percent) of its free throws. The Knights dished out 19 team assists and forced a season-best 13 turnovers from the Cobbers.
Concordia won the rebound battle, 33-30, and racked up 23 assists. The Cobbers made 48.3 percent of their field goals, 37.5 percent (9-for-24) of their 3-point tries, and 70.6 percent (12-for-17) of their foul shots. Jacob Cook scored 27 points and added eight rebounds and three steals. Belka finished with 22 points, five 3-pointers, and four helpers. Jackson Loge contributed a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton continues their road swing on Saturday, Feb. 7, at Saint John's University. The contest will tip at 3:00 p.m. in Collegeville.
