Travis Johnson's timing was perfect. The junior guard (20) scored half of his 10 points in a 39 second span early in the second half as Hamline's men's basketball team broke away from Macalester for a 69-55 victory Saturday at Hutton Arena. The Pipers moved back to .500 overall at 5-5 and 2-2 in MIAC play by outscoring the Scots by a 43-28 margin in the final 20 minutes of play. 

Dior Ford led all scorers with 17 points and tied for the game lead in rebounds with Mac's Kyle Bernhard at seven. He, too, had a productive second half with 10 points. In the process, he became the ninth player in school history to register 200 Free Throws Made for a career.  Austin Johnson added 12 points, five rebounds and a game high three steals. 

Back to Travis Johnson, though. HU held a slim 26-25 lead at halftime. It was 28-26 a minute into the second half when Travis made a layup. When the Scots' Hans Erickson missed a jumper, Travis grabbed the rebound and headed up court. Ford tried a three-pointer that went astray but there was Trvais to gobble up the rebound and hit the trey himself. That made it 33-26 and the Pipers were in control the rest of the game. 

HU upped the margin to 14 at 57-43 with 6:16 left only to see the Scots scored the next nine points to cut the lead to five with 2:25 remaining. Ford hit on a pair of free throws and Austin Johnson dunked one a minute later to seal the decision. 

It was the first time since the season-opening win over Northwestern that the Pipers had shot 50 per cent or better in a game. On the flip side, the Scots' 18 baskets for the game were the fewest Hamline had allowed all season. 

HU now heads on the road next week. They will play at St. John's (4-5, 2-2 MIAC) on Wednesday, January 7 for a 7:00 p.m. start. Next Saturday, they visit St. Olaf (9-1, 4-1 MIAC). That game is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. tipoff.