<na, MN -- Caleb Rosenow ’12 posted yet another double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Tom Sawatzke ’13 lit up the scoreboard with 22 points, and Scott Theisen ’13 put up 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.
However, even those stellar performances were not enough to end the Carleton Men’s Basketball Team’s now seven-game losing streak. Saint Mary’s topped the Knights, who had won their last 23 matchups against the Cardinals, by a tally of 64-60 in a hard-fought game that went down to the final seconds.
Carleton (6-8, 3-7 MIAC) and St. Mary’s (3-13, 3-8 MIAC) went back and forth for much of the first half. Carleton grabbed an early 6-4 lead with 17:04 to play in the period, but that was the last lead that it would hold for quite some time.
However, not holding a lead did not mean that Carleton was uncompetitive in the first twenty.
The Knights largest deficit of the half came with 11 minutes left while trailing 18-10. But after a quick 8-2 spurt keyed by a three pointer from Sawatzke, who tallied 11 of his 22 points in the first half, Carleton found itself trailing by only two at 20-18 with just over nine minutes remaining in the first.
For the rest of the half, the Cardinals’ lead never grew larger than six, which is where it sat with two seconds to go. Just before the halftime buzzer, Sawatzke, assisted by Theisen, hit a mid-range jumper to send the Knights into halftime trailing by only four at 33-29.
Unfortunately, Carleton was unable to build on its momentum to start the second period. St. Mary’s opened up with the first four points of the half, and built up an eight-point lead, tied for the largest of the game.
Despite the rough start to the half, Carleton found its way back. After a Rosenow free throw, which pulled the Knights to within two at 46-44 with 9:48 remaining on the clock, and a big stop on the defensive end, Carleton had a chance to take the lead for the first time since early in the first half. And take the lead they did.
Theisen once again found a seam in the Cardinals’ defense, this time teaming up with Shane McSparron ’15 who hit a layup with 8:27 on the clock. The Knights were then up 47-46.
As the game neared its closing minutes, Sawatzke continued to provide crucial offense for Carleton. A big time triple, one of his five in the game, at the 6:51 mark pushed the Knights’ lead up to four, and with the game tied at 55 and 4:59 remaining, Sawatzke came up big again. His jump shot off of a Michael Grinnell ’12 assist gave the Knights a two-point lead. However, this was the last lead that Carleton would see for the rest of the matchup.
After some very physical play from the Cardinals led to a Carleton turnover, Saint Mary’s took advantage. Two consecutive shots by the Cardinals gave them a two point 59-57 lead with only 2:25 left.
Then, after a missed opportunity for the Knights on the offensive end, Saint Mary’s Evan Pederson knocked down a prayer with the shot clock winding down to push the Cardinals’ lead out to 61-57 with just under a minute to play.
Although Pederson’s shot was certainly clutch, it was the game-high 28 points by Michael Burfeind that allowed Saint Mary’s to find themselves ahead in the game.
But the Knights did not go down quietly. Following one Saint Mary’s free throw, Sawatzke nailed a deep three-ball with 17.7 seconds to play. The bucket cut the Cardinals’ advantage to 62-60.
However, that three pointer was the last basket the Knights would score. A Saint Mary’s layup pushed the lead once again out to four points and Sawatzke narrowly missed another triple on the Knights’ last possession of the game. The game finished with Saint Mary’s ahead 64-60.
Carleton’s next matchup will be against their conference rival St. Olaf on Sat., Jan 21 at 3:00 pm. The game will be played at West Gym.