Anthony Baquerorebounded from a recent shooting slump to can 5-of-10 three-pointers, tallying a game-high 17 points. Kyle Beste (added 14 points and five boards while first-year forward Tommy Drake tallied 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists for Carleton (13-8, 11-5 MIAC), which wrapped up its 12th MIAC Playoff berth in the last 16 years with the victory. Dan Forkrud added nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Knights.
The Knights have won seven of their last nine games and maintained a half-game lead over Bethel University for third place in the conference standings.
Concordia (11-10, 9-7 MIAC) was paced by Soren Nelson and Luke Linz with 13 points each. Keith Eckhoff, the MIAC’s leading scorer, was held to 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting, including an 0-of-4 afternoon from three-point range. He was held to a pair of free throws over the first 20 minutes. He entered the game as the nation’s second most-accurate three-point shooter at better than 50 percent from beyond the arc.
The Knights raced to a quick 18-8 lead as Phillips made a pair of three-pointers and a pull-up jumper and Baquero drilled two long-range shots over the first 7:28. Carleton continued the hot shooting, stretching it to 39-17 on a Drake triple before taking a 41-24 lead at the break.
The Cobbers got as close as 15 points early in the second half as Eckhoff scored in the lane, but the Knights pushed the lead back to 23 as Beste rattled home a shot from the baseline, making it 60-37 with 9:46 left.
The Knights held the Cobbers, the top shooting team in the MIAC, to an even 40-percent clip for the game, including a miserable 1-for-14 from three-point range. Carleton forced 19 Cobbers turnovers, leading to an 18-8 Carleton advantage in points off turnovers. The Knights, meanwhile, canned 49 percent of their shots, including 10-of-20 from three-point range.
Carleton returns to action on Monday, Feb. 7, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., to face Macalester College at 7:30 p.m. The game can be heard live on KQCL 95.9 FM. The Cobbers, meanwhile, are off until Wednesday, Feb. 9, hosting Augsburg College at 7:30 p.m.
Concordia College vs Carleton College 02/05/05 3:00 P.M. at Northfield, MN (West Gym) At Northfield, MN (West Gym) CARLETON COLLEGE 74, CONCORDIA COLLEGE 54 CONCORDIA COLLEGE (11-10 (9-7 MIAC)) Luke Linz 5-7 3-5 13; Soren Nelson 6-16 1-1 13; Keith Eckhoff 3-11 4-4 10; Jason Miller 3-4 3-4 9; Eric Meichsner 1-4 2-2 5; Brock Citterman 1-2 0-0 2; Ryan Templeton 1-4 0-0 2; E.J. Adams 0-0 0-0 0; Mark Dixon 0-1 0-0 0; Anthony Boike 0-0 0-2 0; David Whartnaby 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-50 13-18 54. CARLETON COLLEGE (13-8 (11-5 MIAC)) Anthony Baquero 5-10 2-2 17; Jake Phillips 6-8 0-1 16; Kyle Beste 7-15 0-0 14; Tommy Drake 6-7 1-1 14; Dan Forkrud 3-15 3-3 9; Zak Miles 1-1 0-0 2; Brian Sharkey 1-1 0-0 2; Tucker Schieck 0-0 0-0 0; Micah Johnson 0-2 0-0 0; Paul Rotilie 0-0 0-0 0; Seth Procter 0-0 0-0 0; Khalid Lakanwal 0-0 0-0 0; Mike Kootsikas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-59 6-7 74. Concordia College............. 24 30 - 54 Carleton College.............. 41 33 - 74 3-point goals-Concordia College 1-14 (Eric Meichsner 1-3; Soren Nelson 0-4; Keith Eckhoff 0-4; Ryan Templeton 0-2; David Whartnaby 0-1), Carleton College 10-20 (Anthony Baquero 5-10; Jake Phillips 4-4; Tommy Drake 1-2; Micah Johnson 0-1; Dan Forkrud 0-2; Kyle Beste 0-1). Fouled out--Concordia College-None, Carleton College-None. Rebounds-Concordia College 31 (Luke Linz 8), Carleton College 32 (Tommy Drake 8; Dan Forkrud 8). Assists-Concordia College 8 (Eric Meichsner 4), Carleton College 20 (Jake Phillips 6). Total fouls-Concordia College 13, Carleton College 16. A-550