EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – First year Max Kraay scored a season-high 21 points for the St. Olaf College men's basketball team in an 85-65 road loss to unbeaten UW-Eau Claire in non-conference action on Sunday afternoon at Sonnentag Event Center.

Kraay came off the bench to shoot 7-for-10 from the field, including going 5-for-7 from three-point range, to pace St. Olaf (3-4), but UW-Eau Claire (8-0) shot 55.4 percent (31-for-56) from the field to stay unbeaten and defeat the Oles for the third season in a row. The Blugolds received one point in the balloting for this week's D3hoops.com Men's Top 25 poll.

In addition to Kraay's 21-point performance, senior Kobe Kirk and sophomore AJ Uhl were in double figures in the loss for St. Olaf. Kirk moved up two spots to fourth on the Oles' all-time scoring list with a 14-point afternoon, while Uhl hit a pair of three-pointers as part of an 11-point, five-rebound outing. St. Olaf was 13-for-30 (43.3 percent) from three-point range as a team, with the 13 makes being the program's highest total since also sinking 13 at UW-Stout on Dec. 29, 2022.

Carter Lichtsinn led five Blugolds in double figures with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Andre Renta added 16 points and a game-high six assists, while Tyler Haney (15), Kenji Scales (13), and Xavier Lewis (11) also reached double digits in scoring. UW-Eau Claire made just six three-pointers in the game but more than made up for it with a 50-16 advantage in paint points and a 17-4 edge in free throws made, while committing just five turnovers.

All of UW-Eau Claire's first 14 points came in the paint, as the Blugolds built a 16-6 lead over the first seven minutes. St. Olaf responded with a 17-4 run over the span of nearly five minutes to take a 23-20 lead with 8:04 left in the first half. The Oles opened the game 6-for-9 from behind the arc over the first 11-plus minutes.

UW-Eau Claire held St. Olaf scoreless for over six minutes as part of an extended 18-0 run that resulted in a 38-23 lead for the hosts with two minutes to go in the half before junior Chris Willis ended the Oles' drought at the free-throw line. UW-Eau Claire outscored St. Olaf by a 20-4 margin over the final 8:04 of the half and held a 36-6 advantage in points in the paint before the break

Kirk hit a three-pointer in the first minute of the second half to get the Oles within 11, but that was as close as St. Olaf managed to get after halftime. Kraay scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half and Kirk added 12 points after the break, as the duo combined for 28 of St. Olaf's 39 second-half points.

The Oles will open Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play with a trip to Saint John's University for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday, Dec. 3.