DE PERE, Wis. – A layup by first year
Kobe Kirk with 4.3 seconds remaining gave the St. Olaf College men's basketball team a 79-77 victory over the University of Northwestern (Minn.) in the championship game of the Nicolet National Bank Holiday Tournament on Friday night at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center on the campus of St. Norbert College.
St. Olaf (6-4) trailed hot-shooting Northwestern (6-7) by as many as 10 points but fought back in the second half before clinching the tournament title on Kirk's wide-open layup out of a timeout that broke the fourth tie of the game. After Kirk's layup, the Eagles quickly pushed the ball up the court and got a look at a deep game-winning three-pointer that hit the backboard to the left of the rim.
The win was the Oles' sixth in a row in the series between the two teams, who last met exactly five years ago to the day. After the tournament, junior
Connor Martin was named the Tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Kirk and senior
Brendan Kauls. This year marked the first time St. Olaf had ever participated in the Nicolet National Bank Holiday Tournament.
Martin and senior
Michael Meriggioli had 18 points apiece to lead four St. Olaf scorers in double figures in the win. Meriggioli was 7-for-15 from the field during the highest-scoring game of his collegiate career, while Martin went 3-for-5 from behind the arc on the night. Despite playing just seven minutes in the second half due to foul trouble, Kirk had 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field and was 3-for-6 from three-point range. Kauls added 12 points and five rebounds while going a career-best 3-for-3 from long distance.
A night after making a season-high 13 three-pointers, St. Olaf was 12-for-24 (50.0 percent) from behind the arc on a 49.2 percent (30-for-61) shooting night and committed a season-low four turnovers – its fewest since having just three in a 75-60 win at Macalester on Jan. 18, 2020 – in the victory.
Caleb Hoilien and Henry Fahnbulleh combined for 52 of Northwestern's 77 points, as the Eagles shot 58.9 percent (33-for-56) from the field and had just six turnovers in the loss. Hoilien, who entered the game averaging just over 12 points per game, exploded for 30 points on 13-for-17 shooting, while Fahnbulleh posted a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds.
The Eagles shot a torrid 66.7 percent (18-for-27) from the field in the opening 20 minutes to take a 43-37 halftime lead. Northwestern made 13 of its first 16 shots over the first 11:27 to take a 28-21 lead, as Fahnbulleh and Hoilien combined to score the Eagles' first 25 points while going 12-for-12 from the field. Hoilien had 22 points on 10-for-10 shooting before the break, but St. Olaf stayed within reach by shooting 48.3 percent (14-for-20) from the field and 46.2 percent (6-for-13) from three-point range in the half.
Early in the second half, the Oles cut the Eagles' lead to one at 45-44 with an 8-0 run on back-to-back three-pointers by Kauls and a layup by Merioggioli to prompt an early Northwestern timeout. Thirty seconds later, fifth-year senior
Nathan Hendler connected on a three-pointer to give St. Olaf its first lead since 11-10 at 47-45 with 15:38 remaining.
A three-pointer by Meriggioli – who had 11 points in the second half – two minutes later gave the Oles their largest lead of the game at 57-51, but the Eagles fought back to take a 65-61 lead with just over seven minutes left on back-to-back three-pointers of their own. Northwestern led 71-65 with 4:34 to go before Kirk and Meriggioli combined for 12-straight St. Olaf points to bring the Oles within a point at 77-76 with 1:40 on the clock.
The Eagles maintained the slender one-point lead until Kauls split a pair of free throws with 31 seconds remaining to tie the game for just the fourth time. After getting a defensive stop, St. Olaf drew up a play out of a timeout that resulted in Kauls dumping the ball down to a wide-open Kirk underneath the basket for the game-winning layup.
The Oles return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play by hosting Macalester College on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. at Skoglund Center.
