Northfield, Minn. – Tommy Drake (Jr./Eden Prairie, Minn.) scored 23 points and Jake Phillips (Sr./Brainerd, Minn.) added 16 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals as Carleton College shot 74 percent in the first half in blowing out Hamline University, 98-61.
Six different Knights were in double figures as Zach Johnson (So./Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) added 15 points, Bryan Rosett (Fy./Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) tallied 14 points and nine rebounds and Jay Melson (So./Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) and Jeremy Sutherland (Fy./Eagan, Minn./St. Bernard's) posted 12 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench for Carleton (8-13, 7-9 MIAC). The win pushed the Knights into fifth place, a half-game ahead of rival St. Olaf, which lost at Bethel tonight.
Mike Kootsikas (Sr./Rosemount, Minn.) was scoreless but tallied a career-high 10 assists with no turnovers, as he and Phillips combined for 18 assists and no turnovers. The win snapped Carleton's four-game losing streak. Phillips is now one point shy of becoming the 16th Carleton player to reach 1,000 points, as he ended the evening with 999 career points.
Chad Rich paced Hamline (7-5, 5-12 MIAC) with 15 points and six rebounds and Jon DeRock added 10 points. The Pipers were all but eliminated from the MIAC Playoff hunt with the loss.
Carleton out-rebounded Hamline 38-30 and forced 18 Piper turnovers. The Knights held a 28-7 edge on points off turnovers and a healthy 46-24 spread on points in the paint.
The game was close early, as Hamline nailed seven of their first 12 three-point tries in the first 12 minutes, 38 seconds, but the visitors made only one more long-range try the rest of the way and Carleton finished the half on a 23-4 spurt, capped by a flurry of six points in the final 36 seconds of the half to lead 56-33 at the break.
The Knights' lead ballooned to as many as 37 points in the second half and the only drama was whether or not Phillips could reach the 1,000-point mark. He nailed a three-pointer at the four-minute mark but missed on his next trip down and gave way to a substitute for the final three minutes.
The 98-point outburst for the Knights, who averaged a paltry 55.3 points during their four-game losing streak, was the most the Knights scored since the second game of the 2000-01 season, a 100-91 victory over Oakland City College in Hawaii. It was Carleton's highest scoring output against a MIAC foe since the Knights outscored Bethel, 111-104, on Feb. 12, 1996.
Carleton is back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 7, traveling to St. Mary's University. The game can be heard live on KQCL 95.9 FM and worldwide on Knights Online.
