NORTHFIELD, Minn. - After trailing by 18 points early in the second half, the Hamline men's basketball team (6-18, 4-15 MIAC) cut that lead to six, but would ultimately fall to Carleton (11-14, 8-12) 88-78 on the road.
 
The Pipers shot a solid 53.1% in the game, which is the fifth time this season that they have shot above 50.0%. The Knights countered with an impressive 62.5 field goal percentage, pulling out their best shooting percentage of the year in the win.
 
Carleton also found a way to get to the free-throw line, capitalizing on 20 points from the charity stripe while the Pipers only went to the line once throughout the contest.
 
Sophomore Luke Siwek led the way for Hamline, scoring 27 while shooting 54.5% (12-22). This was the eighth time this season he has scored over 20 points and the fifth time that he has shot over 50.0%. Siwek added three assists, two rebounds, and a steal as well.
 
Junior Michael Dillon, who finished with 17 points, was a key part of the team's comeback attempt late in the second half, as he scored HU's last nine points of the game. Dillon also shot efficiently, hitting 58.3% (7-12) of his field goals, while leading the team in rebounds with nine and dishing out four assists.
 
HU got 22 points off the bench throughout the game, being led by eight-point efforts from both first year Marshall Holland and sophomore Cooper Berg.
 
The Pipers used an early 7-0 run to lead 11-4 after the first five minutes. Carleton would retaliate with 11 unanswered points of their own later in the half to claim an 18-14 lead. They would also close out the half with a 10-3 run to take a 17-point lead into the break at 49-32.
 
The opponents traded buckets for the first part of the second half, but a 5-0 run would put the Knights up by 18 (62-44) with 14:35 still to play. HU chipped away at the deficit, getting the game within nine after a three from Siwek with eight minutes to go, trailing 70-61.
 
Hamline would not get closer than this until Dillon scored six points in a row to help the Pipers trail by only six. However, there was only 34 seconds left and HU would run out of time, falling 88-78.
 
The Pipers will close out the 2019-20 season this weekend, as they host Concordia on Saturday, February 22 for a 1:00 p.m. game. The team will take the opportunity to honor their lone senior, Lucas Berg before tip off.