NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team pulled away midway through the first half on its way to snapping a three-game skid with a 75-58 victory over the College of St. Scholastica on Wednesday evening at Skoglund Center.

In the first-ever meeting between the two programs, St. Olaf (8-6, 4-5 MIAC) outscored St. Scholastica (2-11, 1-8 MIAC) by a 26-4 margin over the final 9:30 of the opening half to open up a 25-point halftime lead. The Saints trimmed a 27-point halftime deficit to 14 with 4:33 to go but could get no closer.

Senior Dominic Bledsoe was 9-for-14 from the field to score a game-high 21 points to go with five assists and five steals for the Oles, who enjoyed a 26-2 advantage in fast-break points in the win. In addition to Bledsoe's fifth 20-point game of the season, sophomore Connor Martin had 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists and junior Charlie Haff nearly posted a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

St. Olaf jumped out to a quick 9-3 lead over the first 3:25 of the game to prompt an early timeout by St. Scholastica. The Saints stuck around past the midway point of the half, trailing by three following a layup by Jack Silgen with 9:30 to go before the break.

Haff hit a three-pointer on the next possession to start the 26-4 close to the half for the Oles, who shot 51.3 percent (20-for-39) from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Bledsoe had 14 of his 21 points before the break, going 6-for-8 from the field and added four first-half steals. Haff was 4-for-5 from the field in the half with 10 points and seven rebounds.

After shooting just 30.0 percent (10-for-33) in the opening half, St. Scholastica heated up to 43.8 percent (14-for-32) in the second half, but was just 2-for-19 (10.5 percent) from behind the arc in the game. A layup by senior Carter Uphus on the opening possession of the second half gave St. Olaf its largest lead of the game and the Oles led by 26 with 8:34 to go following a Bledsoe three-pointer.

The Saints scored 14 of the game's next 16 points to cut the 26-point deficit to 14, 68-54, with 4:33 remaining before the Oles scored five-straight points to go back up by 19. Isiah Hendrickson had 10 of his team-high 12 points in the second half for St. Scholastica, which got 27 points from its bench in the loss.

St. Olaf hosts Carleton on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 3 p.m. Only spectators on a pass list through one of the teams may attend the game and all spectators must provide proof of vaccination upon entry to the game.