NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Caleb Rosenow (Sr./Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing) had a season best 20 points to lead all scorers as the Carleton College men's basketball team won its MIAC opener with a 93-48 victory over visiting Saint Mary's University. The Knights used a mind-boggling 30-0 run in the first half to leave absolutely no doubt about the outcome in this one.
This was the largest margin of victory ever for Carleton in a MIAC game and tied for the eighth-widest in school history. This was the most points scored by the Knights since they defeated Hamline University, 98-61, on Feb. 5, 2007. Overall, Carleton shot 62.0 percent from the field as a team, the second-best figure in recorded Knights' history behind only a 62.2-percent performance at Wartburg College on Nov. 24, 2007.
Six Knights finished in double figures tonight, including reserves Shane McSparron (Fy./Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) and Paxton Harvieux (Fy./Stillwater, Minn.Stillwater), who went a combined 10-for-12 from the field and tallied 14 and 12 points respectively. Carleton enjoyed a 34-6 advantage in bench scoring.
It took very little time for the Knights to exert control over this evening's affair. Rosenow scored the first seven points of the contest before the Cardinals' LaMonte Hall intercepted an outlet pass and hit a layup with 17:39 remaining in the first half.
It would take more than nine minutes before Saint Mary's would score again. During that drought, the Cardinals went 0-for-11 from the field, missed two free throws, and committed four turnovers.
Meanwhile Carleton seemingly got any shot it wanted, going 11-of-14, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. On two of the three misses, Rosenow pulled down the offensive rebound and scored the putback. The Knights also made 5-of-6 free throws during the stretch.
Carleton shot 68.8 percent in the first half and carried a 58-13 lead into intermission. The Knights earned their 23rd straight win in the series and improved to 50-7 all-time against Saint Mary's. Additionally, Carleton has now won 27 of its last 31 regular-season MIAC games.
"The guys were clearly ready to start the MIAC season," said Carleton head coach Guy Kalland. "They were on their toes at both ends of floor, got their angles down and more often than not were in the right spot. That energy carried over to the offensive end of the floor.
"One look at the stats, and it's obvious there's not much falling off when we go to the bench. The guys are coming together as a group."
The other Knights in double figures tonight were Scott Theisen (Jr./Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park), Taylor Hanson (So./Saint Paul, Minn./Minnehaha Academy), and Tom Sawatzke (Jr./Monticello, Minn./Monticello) with 12, 11, and 10 points respectively.