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Junior Will DeBerg’s 17 points helped the men’s basketball team defeat Carleton College 68-61 Monday night at Shoenecker Arena.

The Tommies had an explosive start with DeBerg sinking two 3-point shots in a row to give them a 9-3 lead.

“I was open, it got our team off to a good start. Got us motivated to end the first half with a good lead,” Deberg said.

The strong start was maintained throughout the first half with DeBerg making 12 out of his 17 shots, and freshman Connor Nord fought aggressively in the paint. The team was able to maintain a solid lead heading into the second half.

“It was nice. We built a 13-point lead at the end of the first half, then we maintained that lead,” coach John Tauer said. “I think we stretched that lead in the second half to 18 points. Overall, we were pretty consistent.”

The Tommies’ defense in the second half was the key to the victory, Nord said.

“We knew Carleton was a good team and had a bunch of guys who could score,” Nord said. “They had three guys who did the majority of the scoring, so it wasn’t a lot of options for them. I think we did a good job overall.”

The Tommies play Wednesday against Bethel. The team needs one win in its last two games to claim a first-round playoff bye and a top-two seed. Tauer said he believes that the team can succeed by focusing on one game at a time.

“Like we always preach, it’s one day at a time. We focus on that and good things will happen,” Tauer said.

Sara Kovach can be reached at kova7636@stthomas.edu.