NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team saw its playoff hopes take a hit with a 79-75 loss to Augsburg University on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at Skoglund Center.

With the teams tied at 72-72 late, Nick Hendler hit the go-ahead three-pointer for Augsburg (7-15, 5-12 MIAC) as part of a decisive 5-0 run for the visitors, who snapped a four-game losing streak with the win. The last-place Auggies dealt St. Olaf (12-10, 8-9 MIAC) its fourth-straight loss and earned a split of the regular-season series between the two teams. With the loss, the Oles sit a half game behind Hamline University for the sixth and final spot in the MIAC Playoffs with three games remaining (four for Hamline).

Before the game, the Oles honored their four graduating seniors in the Class of 2023 – Jake Weber, Michael Meriggioli, Luke Barnes, and Nathan Hendler – for their dedication to the program over their careers. The quartet have helped St. Olaf to a pair of appearances in the semifinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs in the last four seasons.

Junior Connor Martin scored a game-high 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting for the Oles, while adding five rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block in the game. Hendler added 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists on his Senior Day, while first year Kobe Kirk came off the bench to add 10 points.

Will Blascziek and Kayser Hassan paced the Auggies with 18 points apiece, while Conner Knoepfle and Isaac Rabaey were also in double figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Augsburg never trailed in the game and led for 38:09 of the 40 minutes.

Hassan scored the first seven points for Augsburg to help the visitors to an early 7-2 lead. After St. Olaf scored the next five points to pull even, the Auggies went on a 16-2 run over the span of nearly five minutes to open up their largest lead of the game at 23-9 nine minutes in.

The Oles answered with a 9-1 run – with all nine points coming from Kirk and Martin – to climb within 24-18 with 6:37 remaining in the half and went into the locker room down by a 40-33 margin. Hassan had 16 of his 18 points in the opening half, while Knoepfle added 11 before the break. Martin hit all six of his shots in the opening 20 minutes to lead St. Olaf with 13 points midway through.

After Augsburg extended its lead to 44-33 early in the half, St. Olaf hit four-straight shots during a 9-0 run to make it a two-point game with 15:35 to go. The Oles tied the game at 52-52 on a pair of free throws by Nathan Hendler with 11:51 on the clock, but the Auggies grabbed the lead right back on the next possession.

The teams were tied at 70-70 and 72-72 in the final four minutes before Nick Hendler hit a three-pointer from the right corner with 2:04 to go to give Augsburg the lead for good. After getting a stop, the Auggies stretched their lead to five on a jumper by Isaac Rabaey, but Kirk sank a three-pointer on the Oles' next possession to make it a two-point game at 77-75 with 58 seconds remaining.

St. Olaf had a pair of potential game-tying shots at the rim in the final minute that would not go before Bradley Winter sank two free throws with four seconds left to seal the win for Augsburg.

The Oles play their final road game of the regular season on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. at Macalester College.