Kyle Beste also scored 19 points and Dan Forkrud tallied his third straight double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds for Carleton (17-9), which advances to the semifinals to face second seed St. Thomas on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in St. Paul.
The Scots (11-15) were paced by Brad Liddell’s 21 points and six rebounds while Tom Conboy and Erik Jackson added 16 points each.
The Knights led 38-35 at the break but the Scots used a 17-4 spurt, capped by three-pointers from Will Moeller and Brendan Bosman, to notch their largest lead of the game at 63-56. Carleton answered right back, using a 9-2 spurt, setting up a frenetic final four minutes.
Carleton built a four-point lead as Drake scored on an 18-foot jumper from the corner and two free throws and Forkrud made 3-of-4 from the line over two trips. Liddell and McFarland added two free throws, but Drake answered with a mid-post jumper, pushing the Knights into the lead. Conboy was fouled with 1:25 left and calmly sank both. Beste missed on the other end but Drake tracked down the offensive rebound.
Carleton worked the ball around and Jackson was whistled for his fifth personal and then picked up a technical foul. Anthony Baquero split on the technical foul shots and Phillips drained both foul shots and Carleton led 78-75.
The teams traded free throws on their next possessions before Drake switched out on a screen, sliding down to the block to come up with the steal with 18 seconds left. Baquero made one of two free throws as Carleton hung on for their second post-season win in school history.
The final 40 seconds was marred by a fight in the stands, as a Scot fan, taunting the Carleton crowd, was eventually ejected at about the same time Jackson picked up his technical foul.
The Knights shot 45 percent from the floor and used a 24-15 advantage from the free-throw line, as the Scots shot a torrid 51 percent and outrebounded the Knights, 37-28. Macalester turned the ball over 20 times, allowing the Knights to hold a 26-10 edge in points off turnovers.
Macalester College vs Carleton College 02/22/05 7:30 p.m. at Northfield, MN (West Gym) At Northfield, MN (West Gym) CARLETON COLLEGE 81, MACALESTER COLLEGE 77 MACALESTER COLLEGE (11-15) Brad Liddell 7-15 3-4 21; Erik Jackson 7-11 0-0 16; Tom Conboy 7-12 2-4 16; Brendan Bosman 3-4 0-0 7; Wes McFarland 0-2 6-6 6; Will Moeller 2-5 0-0 5; Lars Johnson 0-1 4-6 4; Chris Dwyer 1-3 0-1 2; Jesse Hollander 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-53 15-21 77. CARLETON COLLEGE (17-9) Kyle Beste 7-16 5-6 19; Tommy Drake 7-11 4-4 19; Dan Forkrud 5-15 7-12 17; Anthony Baquero 3-8 2-4 9; Jake Phillips 1-3 2-2 5; Mike Kootsikas 1-2 2-2 5; Brian Sharkey 1-1 2-3 4; Micah Johnson 1-2 0-0 3; Tucker Schieck 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 24-33 81. Macalester College............ 35 42 - 77 Carleton College.............. 38 43 - 81 3-point goals-Macalester College 8-19 (Brad Liddell 4-9; Erik Jackson 2-5; Brendan Bosman 1-1; Will Moeller 1-3; Tom Conboy 0-1), Carleton College 5-12 (Jake Phillips 1-2; Anthony Baquero 1-5; Micah Johnson 1-2; Tommy Drake 1-2; Mike Kootsikas 1-1). Fouled out--Macalester College-Erik Jackson, Carleton College-Dan Forkrud. Rebounds-Macalester College 37 (Wes McFarland 7), Carleton College 28 (Dan Forkrud 12). Assists-Macalester College 9 (Lars Johnson 2; Erik Jackson 2; Brad Liddell 2; Wes McFarland 2), Carleton College 14 (Jake Phillips 6). Total fouls-Macalester College 22, Carleton College 18. A-900 MIAC Quarter Finals Carleton advances to play St. Thomas - Thursday at 7:30 in St. Paul