In the end, it was only appropriate that Connor Knutson scored the deciding point for the Hamline men's basketball team in a tense 62-61 win over Macalester Wednesday at Hutton Arena. The senior forward scored 23 of his game high 26 markers in the second half as the Pipers rallied from a 16-point second half deficit to remain undefeated at home this season. 

The Forest Lake, Minn. native hit five three-pointers to help HU inch over the .500 mark for the season. Hamline is 5-4 overall, 3-2 in MIAC play. 

The Scots scored the first four points of the game and kept after the Pipers the rest of the half. Hamline trailed 25-10 at one point but whittled the margin down to nine by halftime at 34-25. HU shot just 34 percent ikn the session, including from long distance. 

A 6-1 outburst out of the chute pushed the Mac lead to 41-25 with 17:48 to play in the game. 

In a span of 4:29, HU reversed the trend and grabbed a 44-43 lead. Knutson scored a dozen points (including three three-pointers) as part of the 19-2 run that gave HU their first lead of the night. They never lost the lead after that but there were several tense moments along the way. On two occasions, the Pipers went ahead by six points. Both times, the Scots answered with three pointers. A Knutson layup made it 61-56 with 5:38 to play but the Scots stiffened and eventually tied the game at 61-61 with 2:50 left. Both teams clamped down hard on defense, allowing only a couple of shots that were missed. Finally, Knutson drove the lane and was fouled. He made the first shot but missed the second. The Pipers forced a turnover only to see Macalester do likewise and set up for the final shot. The Pipers kept the Scots at bay, forcing a long shot that went awry and HU had a very hard-fought victory. 

In addition to Knutson, Isaac Brooks scored a dozen points and Lucas Berg wowed the crowd with a pair of dunks. Jake Larson hit two treys, had five assists, a pair of blocks and a steal. 

Wyatt Ferm led Macalester (2-7, 0-5 MIAC) with 21 points and 11 rebounds, Jackson Henningfield added 13.

Hamline has one game remaining on the 2018 portion of the schedule. It will be Saturday, December 15.