WAVERLY, Iowa – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team went cold in the second half of a 73-60 loss to Wartburg College to open the Buzz Levick Tournament on Friday evening at Levick Arena.

St. Olaf (1-2) trailed Wartburg (2-0) just 35-34 at the half but shot just 33.3 percent (8-for-24) from the field in the second half of the 13-point loss. The Knights hit 56.5 percent (13-for-23) of their shots in the second half and got a 30-point, 10-rebound double-double from Marshun Williams to claim the victory.

The Oles will face UW-Whitewater in the consolation game of the tournament on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. after the Warhawks fell to Cornell University by a 75-73 score in the second game of the day. The Rams and Knights will match up for the tournament title at 4 p.m.

Junior Kobe Kirk shot 9-for-18 from the field on his way to a team-high 23 points for St. Olaf, which had just nine turnovers in the loss. Sophomore Jachin Mertes added the first double-double of his collegiate career with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and a team-high four assists, while senior Addison Metcalf provided 12 of the Oles' 16 bench points on the evening.

Mertes scored six points in the opening 4:52 to help St. Olaf to a 9-6 lead early on. Midway through the half, a jumper by Kirk gave the Oles their largest lead of the night at 23-15, but the Knights countered with a 9-2 run to reduce their deficit to one with 6:11 remaining in the half. After Wartburg grabbed the lead, Mertes scored four points in the final 34 seconds of the half to send St. Olaf into the locker room down by just one. Mertes and Kirk combined for 25 of the Oles' 34 first-half points.

Kirk started the second half with a jumper to put St. Olaf back on top, but Wartburg scored the next 10 points to open up a nine-point lead 2:23 into the half. The Oles got within five on two occasions in the next three minutes but could not get any closer. The Knights, who were 7-for-10 (70.0 percent) from behind the arc in the second half, led by as many as 15 down the stretch.