DULUTH, Minn. – Senior Connor Martin scored a game-high 18 points in his return from injury, but the St. Olaf College men's basketball team endured a 71-62 loss to the College of St. Scholastica on Saturday afternoon at Reif Gym.

After missing the previous four-plus games due to injury, Martin was 6-for-12 from the field and 6-for-7 at the free-throw line on his way to a game-high 18 points for St. Olaf (9-14, 8-10 MIAC), but the Oles shot a season-low 34.5 percent (20-for-58) from the field in the loss. The win was just the second Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) win of the season for St. Scholastica (3-10, 2-16 MIAC) and the 11th conference win for the Saints since they joined the MIAC prior to the 2021-22 season.

After suffering its sixth loss in the last seven games, St. Olaf remains one game behind Bethel University for the sixth and final spot in the MIAC Playoffs with two games remaining. The Royals and Oles will meet on the final day of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 17 at Skoglund Center.

Martin's 18-point performance saw him move into 15th place in program history with 1,113 points during his four-year career. The senior was the lone double-digit scorer for St. Olaf as fifth-year senior Brendan Kauls and first year Jachin Mertes had nine points apiece. The Oles shot just 5-for-26 (19.2 percent) from behind the arc in the game.

St. Scholastica used a balanced scoring attack with seven Saints with at least seven points to overcome a 20-turnover afternoon. Andre Crockett Jr. had a team-high 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Noah Winesett added 10 points for the hosts, who shot 46.4 percent (26-for-56) from the floor in the win.

The Saints held the Oles without a field goal for the first 3:12 to take an early 7-1 lead before Kauls scored five consecutive points as part of an 8-0 run for St. Olaf. The Oles took their largest lead of the game at 22-17 on a three-pointer by junior Jaylen Hannah with 8:46 remaining in the half but proceeded to make just one more field goal until another Hannah three-pointer with 1:37 left in the half. St. Scholastica took a 32-30 lead into the locker room on a late layup by Winesett.

St. Olaf started the second half on an 8-2 run over the first 3:22 to grab a 38-34 lead, which proved to be the Oles' largest lead of the half. With St. Olaf clinging to a 42-40 lead, St. Scholastica went on a 16-2 run over the span of five-plus minutes to build its largest lead of the game with a 56-44 cushion with 8:18 to play.

Still down by double figures with 2:10 to go, two free throws from Martin followed by a three-pointer from senior Caleb Greer quickly whittled the Saints' lead to 67-62 with 1:30 to go, but Greer's three-pointer marked St. Olaf's final points of the game.

The Oles face another long trip with a visit to Concordia-Moorhead on Wednesday, Feb. 14 for a 7:15 p.m. start.