NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team overcame an early 16-point deficit to pick up its fourth Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) victory in a row with a 73-61 win over Macalester College on Wednesday night at Skoglund Center.

Macalester (7-9, 3-8 MIAC) jumped out to a 25-9 lead over the first nine-plus minutes after hitting five three-pointers in the first 6:49, but St. Olaf (8-8, 7-4 MIAC) held the Scots to 36 points over the final 30-plus minutes to extend its season-long winning streak to four games. The Oles and Scots have alternated wins in the last eight meetings in the series dating back to 2021.

Senior Connor Martin posted his sixth 20-point outing of the season by tying his season high with 25 points on 11-for-18 shooting while also recording six rebounds, five steals, and three assists. Sophomore Kobe Kirk finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds while shooting 6-for-12 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Fifth-year senior Brendan Kauls added nine points and seven rebounds, as St. Olaf shot 48.3 percent (28-for-58) from the field as a team.

Coby Gold paced Macalester with 19 points on 8-for-16 shooting, while Eric Wentz contributed 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. After making five three-pointers in the first 6:59 of the game, the Scots made just two over the final 33:11.

Wentz made two of the five early three-pointers for Macalester, as the Scots led 25-9 after a fast-break dunk by Caleb Williams with 10:36 to go in the half. Out of a timeout, the Oles held the Scots scoreless for over three minutes as part of a 6-0 run to get within 10. Later in the half, St. Olaf kept Macalester scoreless for over five minutes during a 13-0 run that gave the Oles their first lead of the night at 32-29 on a three-pointer by junior Addison Metcalf in the final minute of the half.

Gold and Wentz combined for 21 of Macalester's 31 first-half points, as the visitors went into the locker room down 32-31 after a late jumper by Gold. Martin led all scorers with 12 points at the break and had five steals that fueled 12 points off turnovers for the Oles in the opening 20 minutes.

Early in the second half, St. Olaf put together a quick 6-0 run to take a 42-37 lead with 15:53 remaining. That run was part of a larger 16-3 stretch that gave the Oles a 12-point lead at 52-40 inside the final 12 minutes. St. Olaf led by at least 10 points the rest of the way, as Kirk scored 14 of his 18 points after the break and Martin added 13 second-half points on 6-for-8 shooting.

St. Olaf visits Winona to face Saint Mary's University on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 3 p.m.