MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Seniors Nate Albers and Noah Beck both recorded double-doubles as the St. Olaf College men's basketball team edged North Central University, 70-67, in a non-conference contest on Tuesday evening at the Clark-Danielson Center.

Albers scored a team-high 16 points to go with 10 rebounds, while Beck had 12 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double in four games this season for St. Olaf (3-1) in the win. After leading by 10 with 4:01 to go, the Oles were forced to hold off North Central (1-5) down the stretch, as the Rams twice got within two points and had a desperation attempt to tie it at the buzzer.

St. Olaf built a 10-point cushion, its largest of the game, with 4:01 remaining thanks to a 7-0 run that started with a layup and a three-pointer by Albers on back-to-back possessions followed by a jumper by first year Jake Weber. Out of a timeout, the Rams went on a 10-2 run to get back within two, 65-63, with 2:09 to go to prompt a timeout by the Oles.

Out of the break, a layup by Albers made it a two-possession game and St. Olaf continued to lead by four with 22 seconds on the clock after both teams split a pair of free throws. After a defensive stop for the Oles, Albers split another pair of free throws to make it a five-point game, but Seth Fuqua sank a three-pointer to keep North Central in it at 69-67 with 17 seconds left.

St. Olaf ran out half of the remaining time on the ensuing inbounds play and the Rams sent junior Dominic Bledsoe to the line in the closing seconds. Bledsoe made the first and missed the second to give North Central a shot at the buzzer, but Fuqua's heave was not close.

The Oles never trailed in the opening half, getting out to a quick 5-0 lead inside the first two minutes after Bledsoe scored the game's first five points. St. Olaf held the Rams to five points in the first 8:02 of the game and led 12-5 after consecutive layups from senior Troy Diggins Jr.

A layup by sophomore Carter Uphus with 6:55 remaining in the first half gave the Oles their largest lead of the half at nine, 18-9. North Central cut its deficit to five on three occasions, but St. Olaf took a 29-20 lead into the break by closing the half with buckets from Albers and first year Mac Hubbard.

After shooting just 23.5 percent (8-for-34) from the field and 14.3 percent (2-for-14) from behind the arc in the first half, North Central heated up to 56.3 percent (18-for-32) from the floor and 47.1 percent (8-for-17) from three-point range in the second half. The Rams started the half on a 9-0 run to tie the game and took their first lead of the game on a layup by Jalen Dunlap with 15:39 remaining.

Micah Filer nailed a three-pointer on North Central's next possession to give the hosts their largest lead of the night at 34-30. Back-to-back baskets by first year Michael Meriggioli quickly tied the game back up at 34-34 and the score remained within four points until consecutive three-pointers by Diggins Jr. and Bledsoe gave St. Olaf a 54-48 lead with 8:22 to go.

The Rams scored the next five points in one minute of game time to quickly get back within one, 54-53, only for Albers to score five points in a 9-0 run by the Oles that put St. Olaf on top, 63-53, before holding on late.

Filer scored a game-high 21 points and added eight rebounds for North Central, shooting 7-for-13 from the field and 5-for-7 from behind the arc. Fuqua was the only other Ram in double figures with 15 off the bench.

In addition to the double-doubles by Albers and Beck, Diggins Jr. narrowly missed out on one with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Bledsoe added 11 points, four assists and three steals.

St. Olaf opens Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play at Saint Mary's on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m.