NORTHFIELD, Minn. - For the second time in program history, the Carleton Knights are headed to the NCAA Tournament as Men's Basketball Playoff champions of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).

The Knights defeated No. 2 seed Saint John's, 86-76, in front of a capacity crowd at West Gym in Northfield on Sunday.

HOW IT HAPPENED
-Carleton set the tone on the first possession, when senior forward Jeremy Beckler (6'8''-F) scored the first of his game-high 35 points on an ally-oop dunk.
-Matt Banovetz (6'7''-F) added 22 points for the Knights, whileLuke Harris (6'1''-G) chipped in 19.
-Junior wing Ryan Thissen (6'6''-F) played all 40 minutes for the Johnnies, leading the team with 24 points.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
-With the victory, Carleton earned the MIAC's automatic qualifier to the 2023 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
-The Playoff title is the second for Carleton, which previously won the MIAC tournament in 2010.
-Carleton (3) and Saint Mary's (4) both appeared in the season's final NCAA Region IX Rankings last week. Depending on how the automatic qualifiers from other area conferences shake out, the MIAC could see multiple teams receive NCAA Tournament bids on Monday.

UP NEXT
-Carleton received the MIAC Playoff championship plaque and the Conference's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Saint John's, regionally-ranked Saint Mary's, and the rest of the MIAC will eagerly await Selection Monday to see if the league sends any additional teams to the NCAA Tournament via at-large bids. The NCAA will announce the national tournament field during its annual selection show on NCAA.com Monday, February 27 at 12:00 p.m. CT.

Courtesy of miacathletics.com

Offensive Player of the Year: Raheem Anthony (6'4''-G) of St.Mary's, MN
Defensive Player of the Year: Badou Ba (6'7''-F) of Macalester
Rookie of the Year: Kobe Kirk (6'4''-G) of St.Olaf
Coach of the Year: Ryan Kershaw of Carleton

First Team
Raheem Anthony (6'4''-G) of St.Mary's, MN
Badou Ba (6'7''-F) of Macalester
Jeremy Beckler (6'8''-F) of Carleton
Bradley Cimperman (6'4''-F) of Hamline
Zach Doely (6'7''-F) of Bethel, MN
Coby Gold (6'2''-G) of Macalester
Luke Harris (6'1''-G) of Carleton
Nathan Hendler (6'4''-F) of St.Olaf
Austin Holt (6'6''-F) of Hamline
Matthew Johnson (6'1''-G) of Concordia, MN
Joey Kidder (6'4''-G) of Bethel, MN
Connor Martin (6'2''-G) of St.Olaf
Mitchell Plombon (6'7''-G) of St.John's, MN
Spencer Swanson (6'5''-F) of Gustavus
Ryan Thissen (6'6''-F) of St.John's, MN
Caleb Williams (6'2''-G) of Macalester
Owen Ziegler (6'1''-G) of St.Mary's, MN

Honorable Mention
Matt Banovetz (6'7''-F) of Carleton
Nick Carlson (6'4''-G) of St.Scholastica
Alex Gibbens (6'4''-G) of Carleton
Kobe Kirk (6'4''-G) of St.Olaf
Conner Knoepfle (6'3''-G) of Augsburg
Rowan Nelson (6'6''-F) of Concordia, MN
Kooper Vaughn (6'1''-G) of St.John's, MN

All-Tournament Team
Matt Banovetz (6'7''-F) of Carleton
Jeremy Beckler (6'8''-F) of Carleton
Breyton Buysman (6'4''-G) of St.Mary's, MN
Bradley Cimperman (6'4''-F) of Hamline
Luke Harris (6'1''-G) of Carleton
Kobe Kirk (6'4''-G) of St.Olaf
Ryan Thissen (6'6''-F) of St.John's, MN
Kooper Vaughn (6'1''-G) of St.John's, MN
Caleb Williams (6'2''-G) of Macalester