ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Carleton College men's basketball team struggled from long range in dropping a 65-58 result at Hamline University. The Knights played from behind most the evening and were unable to overcome a disappointing 5-for-29 (17 percent) showing from 3-point range. Meanwhile, Hamline shot a season-best 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from beyond the arc.
"Our performance tonight was a bit on the choppy side," said Carleton head coach Guy Kalland. "Hamline played well and got off to a good start in the first half, and we battled back a couple times to keep the score close. In the second half we settled in, defended a bit better, but our 3-point shooting didn't come around. In spite of that, I was pleased with the way our guys continued to fight back and hang in there to make it a game."
Jeremy Beckler was the lone Carleton (14-5, 11-4 MIAC) player to find success from long range, going 4-of-9 as part of his team-high 24-point effort. The rest of the roster went a combined 1-of-20 from beyond the arc.
The Pipers (9-13, 7-10 MIAC) looked nothing like the team that was limited to 35 total points in a loss to conference leader Saint John's on Monday. Hamline nearly surpassed that point total by halftime in this one, taking a 32-25 lead into the break thanks largely to Cooper Berg, who was 6-of-6 beyond the arc as part of a 22-point first half.
Carleton clawed back to within 43-41 with 10:56 remaining, but Hamline used a 12-3 run over the next 5:30 of the game to re-establish a double-digit lead.
The Knights trimmed the deficit to 62-58 with 1:10 still to play, but Carleton went scoreless over the remainder of the contest.
Luke Harris was the only other Knight in double figures, collecting 11 points, five assists, and four rebounds.
Carleton held Berg without a field goal in the second half (0-for-5), but he still finished with a game-high 25 points thanks to a trio of free throws. Bradley Cimperman and Jack Veldman helped pick up the slack as they combined to score 19 of their 23 points in the second half.
Carleton, which came into the contest averaging 18.5 free throw attempts per game, went to the charity stripe only six times all night.