NORTHFIELD, Minn. – First year Max Kraay scored 20 points off the bench to spark the St. Olaf College men's basketball team to a 73-71 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) victory over the College of St. Scholastica on Saturday afternoon at Skoglund Center.

Kraay shot 7-for-10 from the field, including 4-for-7 from three-point range, in the second-highest scoring performance of the season for St. Olaf (8-7, 4-2 MIAC), which held off a late comeback attempt by St. Scholastica (4-12, 0-5 MIAC) to surpass last season's MIAC win total with the victory. The Oles held an 11-point lead with 3:32 remaining but got two defensive stops in the final 20 seconds to hold on.

In addition to his 20 points, Kraay added five rebounds and a team-high four assists to lead the way for St. Olaf, helping the Oles to a 33-17 advantage in bench scoring in the win. Sophomore AJ Uhl was in double figures for the 13th time in 15 games this season with 16 points on 8-for-14 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. Senior Kobe Kirk registered his third collegiate double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Davion Butler hit all 10 of his free throws on his way to pacing St. Scholastica with 20 points. Aaron Keykal was 7-for-11 from the field on a 17-point, seven-rebound afternoon, while Hayden Kloos came off the bench to provide 17 points and nine rebounds. Kloos was 4-for-5 from three-point range after entering the game averaging just over four points per game on the season. The Saints outscored the Oles by a 20-4 margin at the free-throw line, shooting 26 free throws compared to eight for St. Olaf.

Kloos scored all 17 of his points in the opening half, shooting 6-for-6 from the field, including 4-for-4 from behind the arc, to help St. Scholastica to a 39-38 halftime lead. A three-pointer by Kraay with 13:03 to go gave the Oles a 17-7 lead, but Kloos quickly hit back-to-back three-pointers to cut into the deficit.

St. Olaf held a 24-15 with 9:20 left after a three-point play by Kraay, but the Saints answered with a 7-0 run to trim their deficit to two. Later, a three-point play by Kloos broke a 27-27 tie to give the visitors the lead for the first time since the opening minutes with 6:40 to go in the half. Kirk capped an 11-point first half for the Oles with a three-pointer in the closing seconds to make it a one-point game at the break.

With St. Scholastica still up one early in the second half, junior Chris Willis swung the lead back to St. Olaf for the final time in the game with a three-pointer with 13:28 remaining. Kraay added a three-pointer as part of a 9-0 run shortly thereafter that extended the Oles' lead to 60-48 midway through the half for St. Olaf's largest lead of the game.

St. Olaf was still up by 11 with 3:32 to play before going scoreless for nearly 2:30 as part of a 9-0 run that got St. Scholastica within a point with 1:07 on the clock. The Saints had the ball twice in the final 20 seconds with a chance to tie or take the lead but was unable to do so. With five seconds to go, Kraay missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Willis got a steal shortly after the rebound to prevent St. Scholastica from having a final chance at the win.

The Oles will begin a stretch of three consecutive road games with a trip to Bethel University for a 7 p.m. start on Wednesday, Jan. 14.