A conference opener at Hutton Arena provided the backdrop for the men’s basketball rout of Macalester. The Pipers took advantage of a great shooting night and strong defensive play that forced Macalester turnovers to open up a big lead on Dec. 2.

Sophomore guard Zach Smith had his mid-range shot falling early, and used that confidence to score from all over the court. Smith places emphasis on that part of his game.

“The mid-range is kinda my strength. I try to get that shot early on,” Smith said.

The Pipers consistently attacked the basket and drew fouls to take a 25-11 lead midway through the first half. Sophomore guard Quinton Garvis noted the reason behind this aggressive play style.

“After we saw how the refs were calling the game, we did try to draw some more fouls,” Garvis said.

Junior forward Dylan See-Rockers had numerous scoring streaks throughout the night, with one in the first half that showed off his versatility. See-Rockers finished a power post move with his left hand and followed that with a breakaway basket. He also hit from deep and made another two-pointer to score four quick baskets.

See-Rockers talked about how a scoring run can give the team a boost.

“The energy gets a lot better from that. That livens up everyone,” he said.

Fouls at the end of the first half allowed Macalester to cut the lead down, but a three-pointer by Smith right before the buzzer gave the Pipers a 45-29 lead going into the break.

See-Rockers came back from the locker room without missing a beat, hitting two three-pointers right away. Smith talked about what it was like to see his teammate play so well.

“Dylan hit a lot of threes. It was good to see him breakout,” Smith said.

Garvis also had his shot falling all night. He hit a three-pointer to cap a 10-0 run and force Macalester to call timeout. The Pipers cruised the rest of the way, finishing with a 79-59 victory.

Garvis, See-Rockers, and Smith all scored in double digits for the night, but Garvis credited the defensive gameplan for the strong play and large margin of victory.

“We had to know the tendencies of all the players. We made Kareem Ismail turn it over a lot. We wanted to dig on him pretty hard,” Garvis said.

Ismail, Macalester’s center and leading scorer for the night, was also tied for the most turnovers on the team.

Smith had praise for the whole team’s performance.

“I thought it was our best game so far. Everybody shot the ball well. It was a good way to get our first win in the conference,” Smith said.

See-Rockers was also happy with the result.

“It’s always good to get that first one out of the way. It’s nice because Macalester’s a good team, up and coming,” See-Rockers said.

With a conference victory in the books, the team traveled to River Falls on Saturday, Dec. 5. The first half of the game was very close with the team down only one point at 32-33. Senior center Herbert Tarpeh made all four of his field goals in the first half.

The second half kept the Pipers far enough out of reach to prevent them from consecutive wins. UW-River Falls forward Jon Christensen shot 9-10 in the second half and ended up with 40 points for the game. The Pipers lost 67-80.

Garvis talked about what makes River Falls a difficult opponent.

“They’re a bigger, stronger team than we’re used to,” he said.

Hamline’s next two games will be at home in Hutton Arena. They face St. John’s tonight, Dec. 9, and St. Olaf on Saturday, Dec. 12.