PLATTEVILLE, Wis. - Austin Korba had 22 points as the St. Olaf men's basketball team defeated Sul Ross State 88-75 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship on Friday at Bo Ryan Court. 

Robert Tobroxen added 20 points and Nate Albers 18 for the Oles (20-7), who will play host and eighth-ranked UW-Platteville on Saturday. Tobroxen had 18 points and nine rebounds in the second half, and finished with 11 points for his fifth double-double of the year. 

Korba had 16 in the first half, going 4-of-6 from three-point range, and he added eight rebounds.

Sul Ross State raced to a 7-0 lead, but the Oles used an 18-2 run over a five-minute stretch midway through the first half to take a 25-15 lead.

"I'm proud of my team, we didn't panic," said St. Olaf head coach Dan Kosmoski. "Anything can happen in these tournament games and it's a game of runs, and we made a couple."

Albers went 12-for-12 from the free throw line and the Oles 31-of-36 for the game. The Lobos (22-7) were 17-for-22.

The Oles also controlled the glass. St. Olaf outrebonded the Lobos 37-21. "The number one thing we wanted to do in this game was the rebounds, and we did that," added Kosmoski.

St. Olaf weathered a 21-point, seven-assist, six rebound effort from Sul Ross State's Caleb Thomasson. Thomasson was 8-of-15 from the floor and a perfect 5-of-5 from the line.

The Oles led by as many as 15 in the first half, at 41-26, before the Lobos closed the half on a 10-2 run. 

St. Olaf, making its fourth appearance in the last five seasons, is now 3-1 in first round games.