ST. PETER, Minn. – Fifth-year senior Nathan Hendler scored a career-high 27 points, but the St. Olaf College men's basketball team could not slow down Gustavus Adolphus College in a 94-87 loss on Wednesday night at Gus Young Court.

Hendler shot 9-for-12 from the field, including going 6-for-7 from behind the arc, and was 3-for-4 from the free-throw line on his way to a career-high 27 points for St. Olaf (4-3, 2-3 MIAC), which shot 55.4 percent (36-for-65) from the floor in the loss. Spencer Swanson and Evan Wieker combined to score 61 points for Gustavus (3-4, 3-2 MIAC), which shot at a 59.0 percent clip (36-for-61) for the game and scored 54 points in the paint.

Hendler's 27-point night surpassed his previous career-high output of 25 points from a 96-90 overtime loss in St. Peter last season on Jan. 26, 2022. Hendler was one of four Oles in double figures in the game, along with first year Kobe Kirk, senior Michael Meriggioli, and senior Charlie Haff. Meriggioli had 11 points, five rebounds, and a career-high eight assists, Kirk added 11 points off the bench on 5-for-9 shooting, and Haff added 10 points.

Swanson scored a game-high 31 points on 12-for-18 shooting and pulled down 12 rebounds to post a double-double for Gustavus, while Evan Wieker had 30 points on 10-for-13 from the field for the hosts. Adam Biewen and Jordan Schommer each recorded 10 points, as the quartet combined for 81 of the Gusties' 94 points in the game.

Gustavus hit its first five shots to open up a 12-7 lead just 3:03 into the game and held the lead until St. Olaf went on a 10-3 run – including back-to-back jumpers by junior Caleb Greer – to take a 23-19 lead with 11:36 remaining in the half. The Oles held the lead from the 12:00 mark until a Wieker three-pointer with 8:27 to go in the half put the Gusties back on top, 30-28.

St. Olaf answered by scoring the next six points on two layups by Kirk on either side of a layup by sophomore Addison Metcalf to grab a 34-30 lead to set up a back-and-forth end to the half. Over the final 4:13 of the half, the score was tied four times before Wieker broke a 40-40 tie with a jumper with 26 seconds remaining to give Gustavus a slender 42-40 lead at the half.

Wieker and Swanson combined for 40 second-half points to help the Gusties hold on over the final 20 minutes despite 22 second-half points from Hendler. After trailing 48-42 with 16:49 to go, the Oles went on an 11-2 run, including eight points from Hendler, to go up by three at 53-50. Later in the half, back-to-back baskets by Meriggioli started a 10-3 run that resulted in a 63-58 lead for St. Olaf, which was the team's largest of the second half.

The Oles maintained their lead until a Swanson layup with 5:58 remaining brought Gustavus even at 74-74 before a Hendler layup gave St. Olaf a 78-77 edge with 4:12 left. After Hendler's layup, the Gusties held St. Olaf scoreless over a stretch of nearly three minutes during a decisive 10-0 run to send the Oles to their third loss in as many conference road games.

St. Olaf is off until a non-conference home game against UW-River Falls at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 13.