NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Joe Palmer scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half to lead Augsburg University to an 87-72 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) victory over the St. Olaf College men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at Skoglund Center.

Palmer was 9-for-14 from the field on his way to 24 points and eight rebounds in the opening 20 minutes, as Augsburg (7-1, 6-0 MIAC) hit nine first-half three-pointers to open up a 51-30 halftime lead. St. Olaf (5-3, 2-2 MIAC) chipped away at the 21-point deficit in the second half but could not get closer than 13 after the break.

Senior Dominic Bledsoe entered the night tied with Alfred Jaryan for the all-time program record in career steals and claimed the record on his own with a steal 41 seconds into the second half. The steal gave Bledsoe 160 for his career.

Palmer finished the game 12-for-19 from the field while recording a 30-point, 10-rebound double-double for the visitors. Will Schmidt added 16 points off the bench for the Auggies who cooled off to 1-for-7 from behind the arc in the second half.

Senior Nathan Hendler scored 13 of his career-high 17 points in the second half for St. Olaf, which shot 50.0 percent (17-for-34) from the field after halftime. Hendler was one of four Oles in double figures, as junior Michael Meriggioli had 14 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, junior Charlie Haff added 15 points and five rebounds off the bench, and sophomore Connor Martin added 10 points.

Augsburg hit six of its first eight shots over the first 4:53 of the game, including going 4-for-5 from behind the arc, to surge out to an early 17-9 lead thanks to 10 early points from Palmer. St. Olaf stayed within eight points midway through the half before the Auggies went on an extended 23-6 run to take a commanding 49-24 lead with 2:53 left in the half.

The visitors shot 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) from behind the arc in the opening half, compared to 1-for-9 (11.1 percent) for St. Olaf, led by Palmer's monster half. The Oles whittled a 23-point deficit to 13 at 69-56 with 8:50 to go after hitting 4-of-5 shots from the field but could not get enough stops to get any closer.

St. Olaf held Palmer to six points in 16 second-half minutes, but Schmidt picked up the slack with 13 points after the break. Meriggioli recorded 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists over the final 20 minutes for the Oles.

Next up for St. Olaf is another home game as Hamline visits Skoglund Center for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday, Dec. 15.