MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team hung with the University of Minnesota for over 35 minutes before the Golden Gophers pulled away over the final four-plus minutes for a 71-55 exhibition win on Wednesday night at historic Williams Arena.

In the first meeting between the two programs in 100 years, St. Olaf led for nearly 11 minutes in the opening half, was tied at 31-31 at the break, and was down by just six with 4:36 remaining before Minnesota went on a 13-0 run late on. The game was the Oles' first against an NCAA Division I opponent since 2009 and marked a return to Williams Arena for head coach Dan Kosmoski, who spent nine seasons as an assistant coach for the Golden Gophers from 1985-94.

First year Kobe Kirk led St. Olaf and tied for game-high honors with 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting, including going 2-for-4 from behind the arc, in 18 minutes off the bench. Kirk, who added four rebounds and two steals as well, was joined in double figures by senior Josh Albers with 11 points and fifth-year senior Nathan Hendler with 10 points.

Albers scored eight of his 11 points in the first 4:22 of the game to help St. Olaf to a 13-6 lead in the early stages and was 3-for-4 from three-point range on a 4-for-5 shooting night. Hendler was 4-for-7 from the field, including 2-for-3 from behind the arc, and added a team-high five rebounds to go with three steals.

Josha Ola-Joseph paced Minnesota with 14 points and six rebounds off the bench, while Ta'lon Cooper and Jaden Henley each had 13 points. Pharrel Payne contributed 10 points, while Treyton Thompson grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to go with seven points.

Albers hit his first three shots from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, to ignite the 13-6 start for St. Olaf over the opening four-plus minutes. The Oles held the lead for over 10 minutes until the 9:09 mark when a Payne layup gave the Gophers a 20-19 lead, which was their first lead since the opening minute.

St. Olaf grabbed the lead back on a fast-break layup by junior Connor Martin with 7:54 to go in the half. Another Albers three-pointer with 6:17 remaining in the half put the Oles ahead by a 26-24 margin before Minnesota went on a 7-0 run over the span of 1:07 to take its largest lead of the half at 31-26.

Kirk drilled a three-pointer with 1:07 to go in the half to send the two teams into the locker room tied at 31-31. The Oles led for 10:57 compared to 7:06 for the Gophers and shot 48.0 percent (12-for-25) from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

Minnesota scored on its first four possessions of the second half to grab its largest lead of the game to that point at 39-31 before senior Charlie Haff ended the run with a layup off an assist from Martin. After trailing by as many as 12, St. Olaf got a three-pointer from Hendler and a steal and transition layup by sophomore Addison Metcalf to make it a six-point game with 4:46 remaining.

With their lead trimmed to 58-52, the Gophers scored the next 13 points to open up a 19-point lead inside the final minute before first year Sebastian Loder capped the scoring with a three-point play. Cooper hit three three-pointers as part of a 13-point second half for Minnesota, which shot 53.3 percent (14-for-24) from the field over the final 20 minutes.