ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to force overtime before eventually falling, 88-84, to Hamline University on Wednesday evening at Hutton Arena.

St. Olaf (9-10, 6-8 MIAC) trailed Hamline (4-14, 2-11 MIAC) by a 40-27 margin at the half before pouring in 49 second-half points to force the game to overtime. In the extra session, the Pipers used a 7-0 run to break a 78-78 tie and were 7-for-10 from the free-throw line to claim their second MIAC win of the season.

Senior Nate Albers led the second-half rally for the Oles, scoring 18 of his team-high 27 points in the second half, and added a team-high eight rebounds. St. Olaf made a season-high 15 three-pointers in the loss, with the 15 makes being the most for the Oles since making 19 in a 98-62 win over Concordia-Moorhead on Jan. 20, 2018.

St. Olaf has made at least 10 three-pointers in five of its last seven games after doing so just once in the first 12 games of the season. Senior Troy Diggins Jr. added 17 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Oles, while classmate Noah Beck added 12 points.

Luke Siwek and Michael Dillon combined to score 49 of Hamline's 88 points, as Siwek had a game-high 28 points on a 5-for-7 shooting night from three-point range and Dillon recorded 21 points and eight rebounds. The Pipers shot over 50.0 percent in each of the halves and the overtime session to finish at 55.8 percent (29-for-52) for the game.

Siwek and Dillon both reached double figures in the first half, combining for 25 of Hamline's 40 first-half points to help the Pipers to a 13-point halftime lead. Hamline shot 15-for-24 (65.2 percent) from the field, including 5-for-6 (83.3 percent) from behind the arc in the opening half, and finished the half on a 7-0 run to go into the locker room up 40-27.

St. Olaf shot 54.5 percent (18-for-33) from the field and went 8-for-16 (50.0 percent) from three-point range in the second half to push the game to overtime. The Oles started the half on a 7-0 run over the first two minutes to quickly close within six, 40-34, and eventually tied the game at 48-48 with 13:14 remaining after consecutive three-pointers by junior Dominic Bledsoe and Albers, who had 11 points in the first 6:46 of the second half.

A three-pointer by Beck with 8:52 remaining in regulation gave St. Olaf its first lead since the score was 6-4 1:26 into the game at 58-57. Hamline reclaimed the lead on a three-point play by Cooper Berg on the next possession and led by five, 76-71, with 2:43 to go before the Oles held the Pipers scoreless for the rest of regulation.

Down by five, Albers hit a three-pointer with 2:20 to go to make it a two-point margin and Beck tied it by stealing an in-bounds pass and going in for a layup with 22 seconds on the clock. The Pipers had a shot to win it at the buzzer in regulation but Siwek's jumper was off the mark.

After the teams traded layups in the first 1:08 of overtime, a Siwek three-pointer ignited a 7-0 run for Hamline that gave them an 85-78 lead after the hosts held St. Olaf scoreless over a stretch of 3:13. Bledsoe ended the drought with a three-pointer with 19 seconds to go and Diggins Jr. added one 10 seconds later to make it a three-point game, but Siwek knocked down the second of two free throws with seven seconds left to seal the victory.

St. Olaf is off this weekend before visiting second-ranked Saint John's University for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday, Feb. 5.