NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton College men's basketball team erased a 16-point deficit and gave No. 2 Saint John's University all it could handle—even leading its nationally-ranked opponent several times in the second half—before dropping a 78-71 result at West Gym.
"I thought we battled for 40 minutes today," said Carleton head coach Guy Kalland. "We executed at a high level on both ends of the floor throughout the game but ultimately came up a few plays short."
Carleton (7-11, 4-9 MIAC) trailed 67-62 with 3:40 to go before rookies Beck Page and Jeremy Beckler hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Knights a 68-67 lead with 2:55 yet to play.
Saint John's (17-1, 13-0 MIAC) extended its win streak to 17 games and remained perfect in conference games this season by closing the game on an 11-3 run. Colton Codute scored seven points during the Johnnies' game-sealing surge.
It was a back-and-forth affair throughout as the game featured nine ties and 18 lead changes, 12 of those in the second half.
Carleton gained a 13-10 edge with 13:59 remaining on the clock before halftime. The Johnnies used a 25-6 run to build their largest advantage of the contest, 35-19, with 3:30 remaining in the opening period. The Knights answered with a 10-0 run, but Saint John's still led 35-29 at the break, thanks in part to Lucas Walford, who scored the Johnnies first 10 points on the afternoon and had 12 points by halftime, which exceeded his per-game scoring average for the season.
Carleton carried the momentum through halftime and started the second half with an 11-4 run, including nine points from Isaac Tessier. After trailing by 16 points, the Knights' extended 21-4 surge gave the hosts a 40-39 lead at the 16:28 mark.
After two more lead changes, Kent Hanson sunk back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers, giving Carleton its largest lead of the game at 54-48 with 12:02 on the clock. The Johnnies responded with a 19-8 burst over the next six minutes and took a 67-62 lead.
The seesaw play continued with three rookies scoring all the points during an abbreviated 9-2 Knights' rally that gave Carleton its final advantage with just under three minutes remaining.
Page hit his third triple of the game to bring the Knights within 74-71 with 58 seconds remaining, but the Johnnies converted four free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
Hanson led Carleton on the scoreboard with 21 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Tessier tallied 20 points for the Knights, grabbed a career-high eight rebounds, handed out five assists, and registered two steals. Beckler was the third Knight in double figures, converting 16 points along with his three blocks.
Sophomore Alex Battist averages 15.6 points and 7.7 rebounds this season but remained on the Carleton sideline for the fourth consecutive game due to injury.
Jubie Alade scored a game-high 23 points to pace Saint John's. Walford and Codute each added 17 points for the visitors, with the former pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds.
Saint John's shot 47 percent overall but only 31 percent from 3-point range. Carleton connected at a 42 percent clip from both inside and outside the arc, including an impressive 8-for-15 (.533) from 3-point range in the second half.