NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Visiting Saint John's University shot 70.4 percent from the field in the opening half on its way to defeating the St. Olaf College men's basketball team by an 89-74 margin on Wednesday night at Skoglund Center.

Saint John's (9-3, 7-0 MIAC) was 19-for-27 (70.4 percent) from the field in a 49-point first half to take an 18-point halftime lead over St. Olaf (4-8, 3-4 MIAC) and, despite cooling off in the second half, cruised to the win after the break. The Johnnies, who entered the night ranked No. 10 in NCAA Division III in field-goal percentage (.497), finished the night shooting 54.8 percent (34-for-62) for the game and scored 58 points in the paint.

Sophomore Kobe Kirk led all scorers with 21 points on 8-for-18 shooting for St. Olaf, which also got 15 points, three rebounds, and four assists from senior Connor Martin. Fifth-year senior Brendan Kauls was 4-for-4 from the field while adding nine points and a team-high five rebounds. After shooting just 39.3 percent (11-for-28) in the opening half, the Oles shot 46.9 percent (15-for-32) after the break, including knocking down six second-half three-pointers.

Kooper Vaughn led a balanced scoring attack for Saint John's with 15 points despite playing just 12 minutes, as Vaughn was 6-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point range. Ryan Thissen added 12 points, Kyle Johnson scored 11 off the bench, and Blake Berg pitched in with 10 for the Johnnies, who had eight student-athletes with at least seven points on the night.

St. Olaf jumped out to an early 8-4 lead in the first two minutes before five early points from Kirk and a three-pointer by senior Caleb Greer. The Oles were up 14-12 with 13:27 to go in the opening half before the Johnnies went on a 12-0 run over a span of 2:30 to grab a 24-14 lead. From there, Saint John's led by at least eight the rest of the way.

Despite picking up a pair of early fouls, Vaughn scored 13 points in the opening half, going 5-for-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from behind the arc, to lead the hot-shooting half for the visitors. Kirk had the hot hand early for the Oles, registering 14 of his 21 points in the first half. No other Ole managed more than five points before the break.

After the break, Martin scored the first five points of the second half to bring St. Olaf within 13 at 49-36, but that was as close as the Oles could get, as Saint John's led by as many as 22 points down the stretch. Martin scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, while junior Jaylen Hannah added six points in 12 second-half minutes.

St. Olaf looks to snap its three-game skid when Concordia-Moorhead visits Skoglund Center on Wednesday, Jan. 10 for a 7:15 p.m. tip-off to cap a doubleheader.