NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton College men's basketball team maintained possession of the Goat Trophy for another year with an emphatic 73-56 victory at cross-town rival St. Olaf College. The famed keepsake was up for grabs, but the Knights removed the drama with a 19-point halftime lead, and their margin grew as large as 30 points in the second half.
Carleton (17-3, 12-3 MIAC) had three players finish in double figures as it notched a fourth straight victory and avenged a mid-season loss to St. Olaf (12-8, 8-7 MIAC) at West Gym. Jeremy Beckler finished with game highs of 20 points and eight rebounds along with five assists and two steals. This was the 12th time this season that he topped 20 points in a game.
Alex Gibbens tied a season high with 17 points after shooting 7-of-14, and Chuck Sweat went 5-for-5 from the floor with a trio of 3-pointers en route to a career high-tying 13 points off the bench. In his first two games against the Knights' cross-town rivals, Sweat has gone a combined 10-of-11 from the floor and 6-of-7 from 3-point range.
Spencer Goetz again played a key role on defense and tied a career high with six assists while earning a season-best 8 rebounds.
"Very satisfying team win tonight," said Carleton head coach Ryan Kershaw. "St. Olaf took it to us earlier this season, and our guys were up to the challenge and were ready to respond. We defended at a high level again tonight and executed well on the offensive end. I'm particularly proud of our seniors and am very happy that they were able to keep the Goat on our side of the river for all four of their years at Carleton."
St. Olaf held a 4-2 lead before Matt Banovetz drained a 3-pointer at the 18:05 mark of the first half. That gave the Knights a 5-4 advantage, and Carleton would play from in front the remainder of the evening.
Carleton increased its advantage thanks to runs of 8-0, 10-0, and 11-2 and eventually led 42-23 going into halftime. The Knights shot 51.6 percent in the first half while holding St. Olaf to 32.3 percent shooting, including a frigid 2-of-11 (18 percent) showing from beyond the arc.
The story remained the same over the first 10 minutes of the second half as the Knights eventually opened up a 66-36 margin. The Oles whittled the lead down some over time and ended up with 33-31 scoring advantage in the second stanza, but the large first-half deficit proved too much for St. Olaf to overcome.
One bright spot for the Oles was rookie guard Kobe Kirk, who was the only St. Olaf player in double figures with 16 points, but 13 of those came in the second half.
With the victory, the Knights extended their lead atop the MIAC standings. They now sit 2.5 games above their nearest challengers, Macalester and Saint John's (both 9-5 in the MIAC).