NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Junior Charlie Haff had his second-straight double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds as the St. Olaf College men's basketball team edged Hamline University, 70-69, in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Monday night at Skoglund Center.

St. Olaf (7-3, 3-2 MIAC) shot a season-best 57.1 percent (28-for-49) from the field and hit a season-high nine three-pointers on 18 attempts, but needed a stop on the final possession to seal the win. Trailing by one, Hamline (4-7, 2-4 MIAC) missed a pair of go-ahead three-pointers in the last 22 seconds of the game. The win was the Oles' sixth in the last seven meetings in the series.

The 57.1 percent shooting was the Oles' best mark as a team since shooting 58.3 percent (35-for-60) in a 92-64 victory at Bethel on Nov. 26, 2019. Haff was an efficient 6-for-8 from the field and 3-for-5 from behind the arc on his way to a game-high 17 points and 15 rebounds.

Senior Dominic Bledsoe added 13 points, five assists, and two steals for the Oles, who got 12 points and four assists from sophomore Connor Martin and 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting from junior Jake Weber. Weber scored all of his season-high 11 points in the second half, while Haff had 10 points and nine boards after the break.

Neither team led by more than four points in an opening half that included eight ties and 11 lead changes. After hitting its first four three-pointers in Thursday night's win at UW-Eau Claire, St. Olaf made five of its first six tries from long range over the first 6:07 of the game to lead 15-13. Later, layups by Andrew Jackson and Conner Krenos two minutes apart gave the Pipers the largest lead of the half at 25-21 with 7:59 remaining.

Bledsoe scored four-straight points to put St. Olaf back on top, 30-27, with 4:25 remaining before Bradley Cimperman scored five points in a row to swing the lead back to the visitors. In the final minute, another Bledsoe jumper broke a 32-32 tie before Jake Larson drained a three-pointer with 10 seconds to go to send Hamline into the break with a 35-34 lead. The Oles shot 52.0 percent (13-for-25) from the field in the half and were 5-for-10 (50.0 percent) from behind the arc.

Hamline took its largest lead of the game at five, 39-34, after Cooper Berg started the second half with a three-point play, but St. Olaf scored 24 of the game's next 34 points over a 10-minute stretch to build its largest lead of the night at 58-49 with 8:42 remaining. Junior Brendan Kauls had seven of his nine points in the extended run, while Haff hit a pair of three-pointers to help the Oles build the nine-point cushion.

Trailing by six with 3:05 to go, the Pipers made it a one-point game with 1:48 left thanks to a layup by Krenos and a three-pointer by Larson. Haff knocked down a pair of free throws after grabbing an offensive rebound with 1:20 to go to push St. Olaf's lead to three prior to a Jake Veldman jumper 13 seconds later. After a turnover gave the Pipers a chance to win it on the final possession, Hamline came up empty on a pair of three-point attempts on the final possession.

Berg had a team-high 15 points for the Pipers, while Larson and Krenos added 13 apiece. Hamline committed just six turnovers in the game, compared to 18 for St. Olaf.

The Oles make the long trip to Concordia-Moorhead on Wednesday, Jan. 5 for a 7 p.m. tip-off following the women's game.