Carleton sank 15 three-pointers Saturday in a 74-70 victory over host Macalester that clinched the MIAC regular-season men's basketball championship and the top seed in the conference playoff tournament.
Carleton's Jeremy Beckler scored 29 points, his fifth straight game of 20 or more, in a contest matching the MIAC's top two teams. Matt Banovetz added 20 points for the Knights (20-3, 15-3).
Caleb Williams led the Scots (15-8, 11-7) with 28 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
Two free throws by Beckler gave the Knights a 70-65 lead with 22 seconds left. On the next possession, Beckler fouled Williams as he was shooting a three-pointer, then was called for a technical foul, giving Macalester five free-throw attempts with 15 seconds to play.
The Scots made four of five, including three by Williams, to pull within 70-69. Beckler was fouled and made two free throws, then Williams made one of two to cut the deficit to 72-70.
Carleton won its first outright MIAC regular-season title in a century — it shared two MIAC titles with St. Thomas in the past 20 years and won the Midwest Conference outright in 1965-66.
St. John's 90, St. Mary's 58: Ryan Thissen led five Johnnies players in double-figure scoring with 21 points as host St. John's (14-9, 11-7 MIAC) clinched a playoff berth.
Parker Bjorklund's 20 points helped host St. Thomas (17-11, 8-7 Summit League) defeat Kansas City 73-43.
