Ben Van Thorre posted his fifth straight 20-point game - finishing with 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists - to lead Macalester (14-7, 13-3 MIAC) to a narrow 79-74 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) win over visiting St. Mary's Saturday afternoon in St. Paul. The Scots pull to within a game of first-place Gustavus (14-2), which lost today at St. Thomas.
The closely-contested and physical contest (51 fouls) featured 20 lead changes and 19 ties. The final lead change came when Mac's Lars Johnson canned a three-point shot with :45 left in the game to break a 74-74 tie. It was his only basket of the game. Chris Assel sealed the win with a pair of free throws with :14 left. Johnson set up his game-winning shot with his own steal with 1:00 to play and set up the previous Macalester basket (which tied the score at 74-74 at 1:31) with a key offensive rebound.
Assel added 21 points for the winners, while Brandon Bosman contributed 10 points, eight boards and a couple blocked shots. Erik Jackson had eight points and five assists.
Jeff Tendall scored 18 of his game-high 29 points in the first half to pace St. Mary's (5-16, 4-12 MIAC). Terrence Smith added 10 points and Dan Kloak scored nine. Tendell also had six rebounds and four assists while knocking down 5-of-8 from behind the arc.