ST. PETER, Minn. - Led by Jeremy Beckler (Sr./Lino Lakes, Minn./White Bear Lake) and Luke Harris (So./Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) in the scoring column, the Carleton College men's basketball captured a 91-80 victory at Gustavus Adolphus College. The result was the team's seventh straight triumph and moved the Knights atop the MIAC standings with a 6-1 record in conference games.
 
"It's hard to win on the road in conference play, especially against a quality opponent like Gustavus," said Carleton head coach Ryan Kershaw, "and I am really pleased with the effort, focus, and determination our team displayed today.
 
"I thought the last two minutes of the first half were huge for us. We got a couple key stops and were able to convert on the offensive end to get a little momentum going into the half."
 
Scoring went the Knights' (11-1, 6-1 MIAC) way early in the contest, as they took their largest lead of the first half, 11-6, less than five minutes into play. The Gusties (5-8, 5-3 MIAC) utilized efficient three-point shooting to come back into the game and take control on their home court. An Evan Wieker putback layup extended Gustavus' lead to nine points at 39-30 with 3:07 remaining in the first half.
 
The Knights, however, would not be undone and closed out the half on a 10-1 run to retake the lead, 42-41, capped off by a Harris three-pointer in the closing moments of the period. The sophomore point guard poured in 16 of his career-high 26 points during the opening 20 minutes of play.
 
The second half began with back-and-forth play, but Beckler and Alex Gibbens (Jr./New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) converted from outside on consecutive possessions to earn a 54-47 lead less than four minutes in. While the home team would hang around for the rest of the afternoon, Carleton led by multiple possessions for the remainder of the contest.
 
Beckler finished the game with an uber-efficient 28 points, 22 of which came in the second half. He was 10-of-15 from the field, including a season-best 5-of-7 performance from beyond the arc. He has scored 20 or more points in 8-of his last-10 games. Harris added four assists and a pair of steals to his 26 points, his fifth game this season with at least 20 points. Gibbens tallied 14 points in addition to seven boards, seven assists, a block, and a steal. Spencer Goetz (So./Chaska, Minn./Chaska) and Matt Banovetz (Jr./Minneapolis, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) each made large contributions defensively and on the boards.
 
Carleton shot 45 percent overall and was 12-of-31 from long range. The Knights were 17-of-19 at the charity stripe and enjoyed a 23-14 edge in second-chance points as they surpassed 90 points for the third time this season
 
Gustavus shot 48 percent and was 11-of-26 beyond the arc, but the Gusties were only 9-of-14 at the free throw line.
 
Jordan Schommer had 22 points to pace four Gusties to achieve double-digit scoring.
 
A Saint John's loss at Saint Mary's, 69-57, broke a tie between the Knights and Johnnies atop the conference standings.
 
Carleton's current win streak is the team's longest since a 14-game streak from Jan. 14-Feb. 21, 2017.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will look to stay hot against crosstown rival St. Olaf College and retain possession of the Goat Trophy, which has been safe on the east side of the Cannon River since the 2019-20 season. Tipoff at West Gym is slated for 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan 11.