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NORTHFIELD, Minn. - No. 3 St. Thomas used a 15-4 run over the final 4:28 of the second half to knock off No. 19 St. Olaf 86-77 in men's basketball action Wednesday night at Skoglund Center.

With 4:42 to play, Justin Pahl knocked down a jumper to give St. Olaf (13-2, 8-2 MIAC),  which lost for the first time since December 6, a 73-71 lead. The defeated ended an eight-game winning streak. From that point, St. Thomas (14-1, 9-1 MIAC) outscored the Oles 15-4, the exclamation point coming on a breakaway dunk by Conner Nord with 1:22 to play.

The game remained close throughout as St. Olaf held a 38-36 lead at halftime. The Oles led by as many as five points three times in the opening 20 minutes while the Tommies' largest lead was two points in the first half. The second half followed a similar script, though the Oles led by five in the early minutes of the frame. St. Thomas led by five with 6:38 to play, their largest lead of the game before the final two minutes.

Grant Shaeffer led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting for the Tommies. Sterling Nielsen led St. Olaf with 17 points. Each team had five players score in double figures, including each Ole starter. Ben Figini had 16 while Sam Daly had 12 and Justin Pahl 11. 

The contest featured hot shooting from both sides as St. Olaf shot 61.0 percent (36-for-59) while St. Thomas hit 34-for-64 (53.1 percent). Only four combined fouls were whistled in the opening frame as the Oles did not attempt a free throw. For the game, St. Thomas went 12-for-18 from the charity stripe while St. Olaf hit 2-of-8 from the line. Free throws and second opportunities were the difference as the Tommies outscored the Oles 16-6 in second chance points and 14-2 in the second half.

Both teams were efficient in the paint but St. Olaf was outscored 40-34 in that department and 24-18 in the second half.

The Oles will host Bethel at Skoglund Center on Saturday at 3 p.m.