DE PERE, Wis. - Ben Figini had 21 points as St. Olaf rallied from a 10-point second half deficit to defeat No. 17 North Central College 80-78 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament on Friday night at Schuldes Sports Center. 

Justin Pahl added 18 points and Austin Majeskie 16 as the Oles (19-9) won for the ninth time in their last 10 games. 

Connor Raridon went 14-for-14 from the line and had a game-best 22 points for the Cardinals (19-8). Kevin Honn chipped in 14 while Alex Sorenson and Erwin Henry each had 12 in the loss. 

North Central led 51-41 with 13:58 left. The Oles scored the next seven points, helped by a Majeskie three-pointer and layup. The Oles used a 9-2 run to take a 69-67 lead and used efficient free throw shooting down the stretch to seal the win. St. Olaf was 19-for-21 from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes after a dreadful first half (6-of-14).

Both teams were plagued with foul trouble. North Central had three players -- Honn, Erwin and Jagger Anderson -- foul out. The Oles' Riley Aeikens was limited with 24 minutes with two early first half fouls. Aeikens had six points, leaving him one shy of 1,000 for his career.  

St. Olaf, making its third straight NCAA appearance, will play the winner of Northwestern-St. Paul and host St. Norbert on Saturday at 7 p.m.