ST. PAUL, Minn. – Senior Dominic Bledsoe reached the 1,000-point milestone and the St. Olaf College men's basketball team shot a blistering 58.6 percent from the field on its way to an 85-50 rout of Hamline University on Saturday afternoon at Hutton Arena.

Bledsoe became the 24th student-athlete in program history to score 1,000 points in his career with a 17-point night for St. Olaf (9-9, 5-8 MIAC), which made 10 of its first 11 shots while scoring 25 points in the first 7:15 of the game. The Oles built a 49-27 halftime lead and cruised in the second half to complete the regular-season sweep of Hamline (6-12, 4-9 MIAC).

St. Olaf shot 34-for-58 from the field in the game and the team's 58.6 percent shooting was its highest since shooting 60.4 percent (32-for-53) in a 90-60 win at Concordia-Moorhead on Feb. 17, 2018. The Oles were 12-for-26 (46.2 percent) from three-point range and the 12 makes were the program's most since draining 14 three-pointers in an 89-68 victory over the Cobbers on Jan. 20, 2020. The 35-point win was St. Olaf's largest since a 98-62 victory over Concordia-Moorhead on Jan. 20, 2018.

Bledsoe entered the game 11 points shy of the 1,000-point milestone and wasted little time reaching the mark, scoring 14 points in the first 9:43 while hitting the milestone on a layup with 10:35 to go in the first half. The fifth-year senior hit four three-pointers in the game and had all 17 of his points in the opening half.

Senior Nathan Hendler scored a game-high 21 points, going 8-for-9 from the field and 5-for-6 from behind the arc, to reach double figures for the seventh time in his last eight games. Sophomore Connor Martin was also in double figures with 10 points and four assists for the Oles, who had 11 players score in the win.

St. Olaf made 10 of its first 11 shots from the field to race out to a 25-13 lead just 7:15 into the game. Bledsoe had nine points in the first 4:50 and 14 before the midway point of the half during the Oles' blistering start. St. Olaf led by at least 11 points for the final 30:53 of the game and was up by at least 20 points for the final 24:09, while leading by as many as 38.

St. Olaf shot 67.9 percent (19-for-28) from the field and led by as many as 24 points in the opening half. Bledsoe and Hendler combined for 27 first-half points to match Hamline's total as a team. Jake Larson had 12 of his team-high 17 points in the opening half for the Pipers.

In the second half, Hendler made three-straight three-pointers during a stretch where he scored 11-straight St. Olaf points to help extend the Oles' lead to 64-36 with 14:02 remaining. With the game out of hand, first year Caleb Greer scored the first points of his collegiate career with a three-point play with 1:15 to go.

St. Olaf hosts Concordia-Moorhead in the second half of a home basketball doubleheader on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. The Cobbers shot 60.4 percent from the field to top the Oles, 83-66, in Moorhead in the first meeting on Jan. 6.