NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team snapped crosstown-rival Carleton College's seven-game winning streak with an 82-74 road victory over the first-place Knights on Wednesday evening at West Gym.
St. Olaf (8-5, 4-4 MIAC) shot over 50.0 percent in both halves and hit at a 53.4 percent rate (31-for-58) for the game on its way to winning at West Gym for the second-straight season. The Oles led for 39:06 and trailed for just 26 seconds to hand Carleton (11-2, 6-2 MIAC) just its second loss of the season.
The victory means that the Goat Trophy will be on the line when the two teams meet at Skoglund Center on Monday, Jan. 30, as the Oles entered the night needing to sweep the Knights to reclaim possession of the rivalry trophy.
Junior
Connor Martin led four Oles in double figures with 21 points, seven assists, three steals, and two blocked shots, shooting 7-for-14 from the field and 7-for-10 from the free-throw line. Fifth-year senior
Nathan Hendler recorded his third-career double-double with 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting to go with 10 rebounds and four assists. Senior
Michael Meriggioli added 14 points and nine rebounds, while first year
Kobe Kirk was an efficient 5-for-7 from the field while contributing 14 points.
After making a pair of three-pointers in the win, Hendler moved into the top 20 in program history with 78 made three-pointers for his career, rising to a tie for 19th with Steve Banick '08. Martin's seven assists moved him into 20th place all-time at St. Olaf with 171 for his career.
Jeremy Beckler paced Carleton with 20 points on 6-for-13 from the field and was 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. Alex Gibbens and Luke Harris added 14 points apiece, while Chuck Sweat hit 3-of-4 three-pointer to register 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
St. Olaf held Carleton scoreless for the first four-plus minutes while opening the game on a 9-0 run that included baskets by four of the Oles' five starters. Facing an early nine-point deficit, the Knights hit six-straight shots during a 15-5 run that gave the hosts their lone lead of the game at 15-14 with 12:45 to go in the half.
Later in the half, junior
Caleb Greer hit a three-pointer to ignite a quick 7-0 run that pushed St. Olaf's lead to double figures for the first time at 32-22 with 5:15 remaining before halftime. The 7-0 burst was part of a 12-1 run over a three-minute stretch that resulted in the Oles' largest lead of the half at 37-23. St. Olaf took a 40-29 lead into the locker room after shooting 54.8 percent (17-for-31) from the field, led by 11 points and seven rebounds from Meriggioli in the opening 20 minutes.
Out of the halftime break, St. Olaf scored the first six points of the second half – including a layup and dunk by Kirk – to take its largest lead of the game at 46-29 two minutes into the second half. The Oles maintained a double-digit-point lead until a three-pointer by Sweat cut the Knights' deficit to 52-43 with 11:53 to go, but sophomore
Addison Metcalf answered with a three-pointer for St. Olaf.
Trailing by 13 with less than three minutes to go, Carleton put together a 7-0 run over a 44-second span to get within six at 71-65 with 2:03 remaining but could not get any closer. Martin hit 4-of-6 free throws and Kirk made a pair at the line late on to help the Oles hold off the Knights' late rally.
St. Olaf continues a run of four-straight road games with a trip to Minneapolis to take on Augsburg University in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 1 p.m.
