ST. PETER, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team led for nearly 25 minutes, but Gustavus Adolphus College finished strong over the final five minutes to claim a 73-63 victory on Wednesday night at Gus Young Court.

Led by a season-high 27-point performance from Kobe Kirk, St. Olaf (8-10, 7-6 MIAC) led for 24:51 in the game, but Gustavus (9-8, 8-4 MIAC) used a decisive 10-2 run in the final five minutes to complete a sweep of the regular-season series between the two programs. The loss was the second in a row on the road for the Oles following a four-game winning streak from Jan. 10-17.

Kirk shot 10-for-17 from the field, 2-for-4 from three-point range, and 5-for-6 at the free-throw line to score a game-high 27 points in his ninth 20-point performance of the season. The 27 points were one shy of his career-high 28 from an 88-54 victory over the College of St. Scholastica on Feb. 15, 2023. Fifth-year senior Brendan Kauls was the only other Ole with more than five points, registering 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting to go with a team-high seven rebounds.

Gustavus had three double-digit scorers and shot 51.0 percent (26-for-51) from the field in the win, including going 9-for-19 (47.4 percent) from behind the arc. Spencer Swanson paced the Gusties with a double-double of 21 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists while shooting 8-for-17 from the floor. Adam Biewen was 3-for-5 from three-point range on his way to 16 points, while Evan Wieker had 13 points and five rebounds.

After Gustavus led 7-4 two minutes in, Kirk scored the final six points of a 13-0 run that gave St. Olaf its largest lead of the night at 17-7 with 14:05 to go in the opening half. The run was part of a stretch where Kirk scored 11 consecutive St. Olaf points as part of a 16-point first half for the sophomore. The Gusties whittled their deficit to a single point twice late in the half before the Oles hit three free throws late to take a 36-32 lead into the break. St. Olaf led for 16:52 in the opening 20 minutes despite a 13-point first half from Swanson.

In the second half, the Oles were unable to extend their lead early on but maintained their lead until a jumper by Jonah Anderson put Gustavus ahead 45-44 with 13:19 to go. Junior Jaylen Hannah and sophomore Ryan Warren hit consecutive three-pointers on St. Olaf's next two possessions to get the Oles the lead back at 50-47, but the Gusties scored 10 of the next 13 points to open up a 57-53 cushion with 7:55 remaining.

Back-to-back layups by Kirk brought the Oles within a point an 60-59 with 5:06 on the clock before Brady Kienitz drained a three-pointer and Carson Koch followed with a layup to quickly push Gustavus' lead to 65-59 just over 30 seconds later. The quick 5-0 run was part of a 10-2 run that resulted in a 70-61 lead for the hosts with 2:31 to go, and the Gusties led by at least seven the rest of the way.

St. Olaf is back at Skoglund Center for the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. against Augsburg University following the women's game.