COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team came up just short of its first regular-season sweep of Saint John's University since 2014-15 with a 69-66 road loss to the Johnnies on Saturday afternoon at Sexton Arena.

Junior Connor Martin scored a team-high 19 points, including a fadeaway jumper with 57 seconds to go to make it a one-point game, for St. Olaf (12-7, 8-6 MIAC), but Ryan Thissen answered for Saint John's (12-6, 9-4 MIAC) with a jumper with 13 seconds remaining to push the Johnnies' lead back to three. Out of a timeout, St. Olaf was unable to get a good look at a potential game-tying three-pointer, as first year Kobe Kirk's desperation three-pointer at the buzzer would not go.

Martin led St. Olaf with 19 points, seven assists, and three steals while shooting 8-for-15 from the field. He was joined in double figures by senior Michael Meriggioli and Kirk, as Meriggioli had 18 points and nine rebounds and Kirk added 16 points. The Oles shot 50.0 percent (26-for-52) from the field – their 10th game of the season making at least half of their shot attempts – but were just 5-for-17 (29.4 percent) from three-point range and got just two bench points on the afternoon.

Thissen scored a game-high 27 points on 11-for-16 shooting for Saint John's, which shot 50.9 percent (28-for-55) for the game despite going just 3-for-15 (20.0 percent) from behind the arc. Three other Johnnies were in double figures in scoring, as Zach Longueville had 14, Crason Schoeller had 12, and Mitchell Plombon had 10.

Saint John's hit its first four shots from the field to open up a 9-2 lead just over three minutes in before Meriggioli and Kirk hit back-to-back threes to kick-start the St. Olaf offense. After trailing by as many as eight, the Oles took a 27-26 lead – their first since it was 2-0 – with 3:20 to go in the first half on a three-pointer by fifth-year senior Nathan Hendler.

After a Kirk layup put St. Olaf on top 29-28 with 1:55 left in the half, the Johnnies closed the half on a 7-0 run to carry a 35-29 lead into the locker room. Thissen led all scorers with 11 points in the first half, as the hosts shot 51.7 percent (15-for-29) at the midway point.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Meriggioli and Kirk five minutes into the second half gave St. Olaf its largest lead of the game at 41-38. Midway through the half, a jumper by Margin resulted in a 52-50 advantage for the Oles, but that was the final lead of the game for St. Olaf after Longueville scored the next four points.

Saint John's held a 67-62 lead with 2:10 remaining before jumpers by Meriggioli and Martin made it a one-point game with 57 seconds remaining. After getting a defensive stop, St. Olaf had chance to take the lead at the free-throw line but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 40 seconds left and eventually came up just short on the final possessions.

The Oles host crosstown-rival and MIAC-leading Carleton College on Monday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at Skoglund Center. The Knights are atop the MIAC standings with an 11-3 conference record, while St. Olaf is in fifth at 8-6. The Oles won the first meeting by an 82-74 margin at West Gym on Jan. 11.