Box Score Zach Smith continues his ascent up the ladder in the Hamline history books. The senior guard passed the 1100 mark for career points with 17 Wednesday in the men's basketball team's 77-74 loss at St. John's. The Burnsville, Minn. native became the 15th player in school history to hit that plateau. He also moved up the charts in assists (fifth all time with 277), free throws made (277, eighth place) and field goals made (10th with 394). 

Alas, it came on a night where the Pipers rallied from a halftime deficit to lead in the second half and were tied with two minutes to go before falling against the No. 21 rated team in the country in the latest d3hoops.com poll

Jay Betts rattled in 15 first half points with Dylan See-Rockers adding 11 and Isaac Brooks 10 for Hamline, now 3-5 overall (1-4 MIAC). 

The Pipers shot well (51.8 percent) but so did SJU (54.9). HU nailed nine three-pointers in 14 tries. 

It was a back and forth game all night. There were 11 lead changes and nine tie scores. Hamline trailed 39-36 at halftime but turned that around when Bret Lukes hit a three-pointer for a 53-51 lead with 15:00 left in the second half. The Pipers led by as many as four points but SJU kept coming, taking the lead for good on a three-pointer with 93 seconds left in the game. Smith hit a long one of his own to cut the margin to 75-74 with four seconds left. SJU, however, hit two free throws and batted away a last second pass to secure the verdict.

Hamline is off until December 28 when they start a two-game California trip with a game at Cal Lutheran. On December 29, Hamline faces Williams, currently rated No. 5 in the d3hoops.com poll.