SAN ANTONIO — Southwestern men's basketball struggled to execute down the stretch of its game against the Carleton College Knights, losing 72-65 on the first day of the Trinity Thanksgiving Classic.

Kyle Poerschke finished a shot through contact with 5:19 remaining, converting the three-point play from the free-throw line to tie the game at 60. However, the Pirates fell apart offensively the rest of the way, shooting 1-for-5 from the 3-point line with three turnovers and missing 2-of-4 free throws to close the game on the wrong end of a 12-5 run.

Poerschke led Southwestern with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field to go with seven rebounds. However, he hit just half of his 10 free throw attempts and committed five turnovers. Josh Jones was the only other Pirate to score in double figures with 11 points on eight shots with four rebounds and four assists. 

Carleton had three players in double figures, led by forward Alex Battist, who scored 17 of his team-high 18 points in the first half on 7-for-8 shooting to lead the Knights to a 47-42 lead at the break. Forward Jeremy Beckler kept Southwestern at bay with 10 second-half points to finish with 16 on 14 shots. Alex Gibbens contributed 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting with seven assists to direct a Carleton offense that shot 26-for-54 (48.1 percent) from the field. 

Southwestern hit just 25-for-57 (43.9 percent) from the field, including 5-for-20 from deep and 10-for-18 from the free-throw line (55.6 percent). The Pirates also committed 18 turnovers, surrendering 23 points. 

With the loss, Southwestern drops to 2-6. The Pirates will remain in San Antonio to play Birmingham-Southern tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.