DULUTH, Minn. – All five starters were in double figures in scoring as the St. Olaf College men's basketball team exploded for 57 second-half points and secured a first-round bye in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs with a 91-74 road win over the College of St. Scholastica on Wednesday night at Reif Gym.

St. Scholastica (5-20, 3-17 MIAC) held a 35-34 halftime lead before St. Olaf (15-10, 11-9 MIAC) shot 64.7 percent (22-for-34) from the field on its way to a 57-point second half to roll to its seventh win in its last eight games. The Oles used a 14-2 run over a four-minute stretch early in the second half to turn a 42-40 deficit into a 54-44 lead and led by as many as 24 in the final five minutes.

Senior Dominic Bledsoe scored a game-high 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the field, including going 4-for-6 from behind the arc, for his ninth 20-point game of the season. He also added six rebounds and three assists. Junior Charlie Haff added 16 points and seven rebounds, sophomore Connor Martin had 15 points and six assists, senior Nathan Hendler contributed 13 points and four rebounds, and junior Michael Meriggioli finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and five assists.

After shooting just 39.4 percent (13-for-33) from the field, including 30.8 percent (4-for-13) from three-point range, in the first half, St. Olaf shot 64.7 percent (22-for-34) and was 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) from behind the arc in the second half. Haff, Martin, and Bledsoe all had 13 points in the second half alone for the Oles, who turned the ball over just twice after halftime.

St. Olaf led for 11:46 in the opening half – compared to just 5:05 for St. Scholastica – but the hosts took a 35-34 lead into the locker room after outscoring the Oles by an 11-3 margin over the final four minutes of the half. First year Jaylen Hannah's first-career three-pointer with 4:00 remaining in the half helped St. Olaf match its largest lead of the half at 31-24 before the Oles missed five of their final six shots of the half to go into the break down by a point.

Early in the second half, Meriggioli broke a 42-42 tie with a three-pointer that gave St. Olaf a lead it would hold onto the rest of the way. St. Scholastica scored the next basket to get within a point, but the Oles responded with a 9-0 run capped by a Bledsoe three-pointer to take a 10-point advantage with 13:43 remaining.

The Saints hung around, trailing by just seven at 57-50 with 11:54 to go before the Oles went on a 10-2 run to go up by 15 midway through the half. Haff scored eight-straight points and Hendler hit a three-pointer to stretch St. Olaf's lead to 78-57 with 7:07 left and St. Scholastica did not get closer than the final margin of 17 the rest of the way.

Nick Carlson and Noah Winesett each had 14 points to lead the Saints, while Quinn Fischer added 10 points and six rebounds.

With the win, St. Olaf secured the No. 5 seed and a first-round bye in the MIAC Playoffs. After the bye, the Oles will travel to No. 4 seed Gustavus in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.