COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Senior Austin Korba led the St. Olaf College men's basketball team and scored in double figures for the 12th time this season with 16 points, but the Oles fell to No. 11 Saint John's, 87-60, in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) contest Saturday afternoon at Sexton Arena.

Saint John's (13-1, 9-0) shot 64.7 percent from the field, including 46 points in the paint, and 40.9 percent from three-point range, while holding St. Olaf (7-7, 6-3) to 36.8 percent shooting from the floor to secure the victory over the Oles.

Korba led St. Olaf with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists, junior Troy Diggins Jr. posted nine points and senior Sam Stensgard added seven points.

In the first half, Saint John's jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game, but a layup from Diggins brought St. Olaf within six at 10-4 with 16:18 remaining in the first half. The Johnnies answered with a 15-4 run and took the lead, 25-8.

The Oles scored the next two baskets and cut the deficit to 11 after a three-pointer from senior Jake Lyle, but Saint John's responded with a 14-4 run to extend their lead to 21 points with 5:03 remaining in the half.

In the final 1:40 of the first half, Korba sank a jumper and Stensgard tallied a pair of free throws, but the Johnnies headed into the half with a 21-point lead after Zach Hanson finished a layup in the last seven seconds of the half.

After fouled on an attempted three-pointer, sophomore Dominic Bledsoe sank all three free throws at the 15:31 mark of the second half to make the score 55-38 in favor of Saint John's, and Bledsoe sank a three-pointer five minutes later to cut the St. Olaf deficit to 16 points.

Saint John's answered with an 18-9 run and took an 81-56 lead with 2:35 remaining in the contest. First year Niko Polydorou sank a pair of free throws with just over a minute remaining, but the Johnnies would go 4-for-4 from the free throw line to account for the final margin of the game.

The Oles shot 10-for-11 from the free throw line in the second half and improved from 34.38 percent shooting from the floor in the first half to 40 percent shooting from the floor in the second half.

St. Olaf is back to action Wednesday, January 16, as they host crosstown-rival Carleton for the second matchup of the season in a MIAC contest at Skoglund Center, beginning at 8 p.m.