NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team dropped the first of two meetings with crosstown-rival Carleton College, as the Knights used a decisive 16-4 run in the second half to claim a 71-65 win on Saturday afternoon at Skoglund Center.

St. Olaf (8-7, 4-6 MIAC) held a 39-38 lead with 15 minutes remaining before Carleton (11-3, 8-2) scored 16 of the game's next 20 points, including hitting four-straight three-pointers, to build a 54-43 lead midway through the half. The Oles trimmed a late 13-point deficit to five with a minute to go, but the Knights held on for their fifth-straight win.

With the win, Carleton retains control of the Goat Trophy, which the Knights claimed by sweeping the two regular-season meetings between the two programs in 2019-20. Saturday's game marked the fifth-straight game between the rivals that has been decided by 10 points or fewer.

Junior Michael Meriggioli recorded the second double-double of his collegiate career with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for St. Olaf, which also got 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting from sophomore Connor Martin. Senior Dominic Bledsoe added 13 points and classmate Nathan Hendler came off the bench to add 10 points in the loss.

Matt Banovetz led Carleton with 18 points on 6-for-7 from the field and added six rebounds off the bench. Jeremy Beckler recorded 16 points and six boards, while Luke Harris had 14 points and handed out five assists for the Knights, who shot 60.9 percent (14-for-23) from the field in the second half.

Four points was the largest lead for either team in a tightly-contested, low-scoring first half as the teams went into the locker room tied at 28-28. Martin scored 10 of his 15 points in the opening 20 minutes, while Bledsoe and Hendler had seven apiece for the Oles, who limited Carleton to 34.5 percent (10-for-29) shooting before the break.

The Knights hit their first four shots of the second half to quickly take a 38-31 lead two minutes in, but the Oles countered with an 8-0 run of their own to take the lead back. Meriggioli scored seven of St. Olaf's eight points during the spurt that gave the Oles a 39-38 lead with 14:59 to go.

Carleton hit its next six shots from the field – including four from three-point range – over the next 4:23 to grab a double-digit-point lead at 54-43 with 10:26 remaining. Bledsoe scored the next four points to get St. Olaf within seven, but that was as close as the Oles got until the final minute of the game.

With the Knights leading 68-55 with 1:52 left, St. Olaf went on a quick 8-0 run to get within five with a minute still to play. Carleton hit just 3-of-6 free throws in the final minute to keep the Oles in the game, but St. Olaf missed four-straight shots before a Meriggioli tip-in went just before the buzzer.

The Oles host Macalester on Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. at Skoglund Center. Fans may attend the game but must be on a pass list through one of the teams and must provide proof of vaccination upon entry to the game.