The Knights (3-7, 2-2 MIAC) shot 61 percent in the second half in a rematch between last year's MIAC regular-season champions.
Bryan Schnettler paced the Tommies (8-1, 4-0 MIAC) with 21 points and Mike Keating added 12 points and 11 rebounds. All-American Isaac Rosefelt, seeing his first action since suffering through a recent illness, tallied 10 points in somewhat limited action.
Tommy Drake added 11 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Knights.
The Tommies, ranked fifth in the latest D3Hoops.com top 25 poll, built a nine-point lead in the first half as they held the Knights to 34.5 percent shooting over the first 20 minutes of the game. The Tommies took a 33-27 at the break and extended it back to nine as Schnettler netted a triple to open the scoring in the second half, but the Knights promptly embarked on a 9-2 spurt, capped by a Drake jumper.
The Tommies, though, pushed the lead back to 10 midway through the half as Schnettler made another key three. The Toms still led by double digits with less than six minutes left and by seven when Schnettler nailed his fifth 3-pointer of the game with less than three minutes left, but Drake scored inside off a beautiful feed by Mike Kootsikas and Phillips nailed a triple with 58 seconds left, leaving the Knights down 62-60.
Schnettler took an ill-advised three from 24 feet and plenty of time remaining on the shot clock on UST's next possession, allowing the Knights to either take the lead or win the game in the final 30 seconds. The UST defense, though, bailed out Schnettler with some airtight defense, not allowing the Knights to get off a shot.
The Toms shot 48 percent from the floor compared to 46.2 percent for the Knights. The visitors owned a 33-27 rebounding edge, but that translated into a mere 12-8 margin in second-chance points.
University of St. Thomas vs Carleton College 01/03/07 5:45 p.m. at Northfield, Minn. At Northfield, Minn. UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS 64, CARLETON COLLEGE 62 UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS (8-1, 4-0 MIAC) Bryan Schnettler 6-18 4-4 21; Mike Keating 4-8 2-2 12; Isaac Rosefelt 5-10 0-3 10; B.J. Viau 4-4 0-0 8; Andy Dwyer 3-6 0-0 8; Alex McCoy 1-1 1-2 3; Tommy Shimek 1-1 0-0 2; Dan Grant 0-0 0-0 0; Lonnie Robinson 0-1 0-0 0; Grant Hennington 0-1 0-0 0; Brett Tuma 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-50 7-11 64. CARLETON COLLEGE (3-6, 2-2 MIAC) Zach Johnson 8-13 1-2 20; Jake Phillips 6-10 3-3 19; Tommy Drake 5-13 1-2 11; Jeremy Sutherland 2-6 0-1 5; Bryan Rosett 1-6 1-2 3; Mike Kootsikas 1-3 0-0 2; Bobby Schmitz 1-1 0-0 2; Tucker Schieck 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-52 6-10 62. University of St. Thomas...... 33 31 - 64 Carleton College.............. 27 35 - 62 3-point goals-University of St. Thomas 9-23 (Bryan Schnettler 5-14; Andy Dwyer 2-3; Mike Keating 2-4; Lonnie Robinson 0-1; Grant Hennington 0-1), Carleton College 8-18 (Jake Phillips 4-8; Zach Johnson 3-4; Jeremy Sutherland 1-2; Mike Kootsikas 0-1; Tommy Drake 0-3). Fouled out--University of St. Thomas-None, Carleton College-None. Rebounds-University of St. Thomas 33 (Mike Keating 11), Carleton College 27 (Bryan Rosett 6; Tommy Drake 6). Assists-University of St. Thomas 8 (Andy Dwyer 3; Isaac Rosefelt 3), Carleton College 12 (Jake Phillips 4). Total fouls-University of St. Thomas 13, Carleton College 11. A-1128 St. Thomas ranked #5 in latest D3hoops.com poll