COLLEGEVILLE, Minn.- St. Olaf had 29 points from its bench while Justin Pahl and Sterling Nielsen each scored 19 points as the Oles bested Saint John's 84-73 Wednesday evening in a MIAC men's basketball game at Sexton Arena.

The St. Olaf (6-1, 2-1 MIAC) bench missed just two shots from the floor, added six assists and turned the ball over just three times. Mason Braden scored 12 points while making all six of his shots to lead the reserves. Braden's point total was his most in a game since scoring 14 on February 9, 2013 at Augsburg.

Saint John's (3-3, 1-2 MIAC) was led by Alex Schmitt, who scored a game-high 25 points, 16 in the second half.

The Oles jumped out to an early lead in the first half and led by as many as 12 points twice in the game and they held that advantage with 6:19 to play in the opening 20 minutes. The Johnnies ended the half hot, pulling even with 47 seconds to play but a jumper by Nielsen gave St. Olaf a two point lead at the half. Both teams were hot from behind the arc in the first half as the Oles shot 5-for-7 and St. John's 8-for-13.

St. Olaf controlled most of the second half, though the Johnnies did cut the lead to two with 12:04 to play. The Oles made 20 of 25 free throws in the final 20 minutes, many coming down the stretch. Nielsen went 9-for-11 at the free throw line in a 15-point second-half performance. As a team, St. Olaf shot 58.3 percent (14-for-24) from the floor in the second half.

Ben Figini had a game-high 16 rebounds, the most in a game by an Ole since at least the 2006-07 season. It marked Figini's first double-digit rebound game of the season. Pahl, meanwhile, has scored in double figures in every game this season.

The men's basketball team begins home conference action on Saturday and will be at Skoglund Center for their next three games, beginning with Carleton. Tip-off is 3 p.m.