NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team dealt crosstown-rival Carleton College its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) loss of the season by a 79-70 score on Saturday afternoon at West Gym.

St. Olaf (7-6, 3-1 MIAC) snapped its five-game losing streak at the hands of Carleton (7-5, 3-1 MIAC) and pulled even with the Knights in a tie for second in the conference standings with the nine-point victory. The Oles held the lead for 33:37 and trailed for just 2:25 on their way to claiming their third win in the last five meetings between the two Northfield rivals at West Gym. St. Olaf's win means the regular-season finale between the two programs on Saturday, Feb. 21 will decide possession of the Goat Trophy.

Sophomore AJ Uhl recorded his second double-double of the season and the fourth of his career with 18 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to lead five Oles in double figures in the win. Senior Kobe Kirk matched Uhl with 18 points and grabbed six rebounds, while sophomore Rex Lamb had 14 points on an efficient 5-for-9 from the field. Sophomore Liam Madigan and junior Chris Willis added 10 points apiece, while sophomore Liam Roche chipped in with nine. St. Olaf shot 45.5 percent (25-for-55) from the field as a team and 84.0 percent (21-for-25) at the free-throw line.

Sam Koelling led Carleton with a game-high 21 points and 10 points, while Josh Engelberg had 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Matt Drake (13) and Tobias Averill (11) were also in double figures for the Knights, who shot 38.7 percent (24-for-62) overall on the afternoon. Both teams had only six student-athletes score in the game, with the two teams' benches combining for just 16 points.

St. Olaf surged out to a 10-0 lead over the first 3:40 to prompt an early Carleton timeout after Lamb got a steal and went in for a transition layup. The Knights hit six of their next eight shots out of the timeout to get back in the game at 17-15. Willis scored 10 consecutive St. Olaf points to give the Oles a 27-21 lead with 8:18 to go in the half, but Carleton countered with a 7-0 run over a two-minute stretch to take its first lead on a three-pointer by Averill.

Koelling connected on a three-pointer with 3:15 remaining in the half to break a 30-30 tie, but St. Olaf closed the half on a 10-0 run that included two three-pointers by Kirk to carry a 40-33 lead into the locker room. Kirk's two late three-pointers gave him 12 in the first half, as he and Willis combined for 22 of the Oles' 40 points.

In the second half, St. Olaf extended its lead to 13 – its largest of the game – on a three-pointer by Uhl with 13:19 to go before Carleton held the Oles scoreless for over three minutes as part of a 9-0 run to get back within four. Uhl broke St. Olaf's drought with a dunk off a feed from Willis midway through the half before the Knights got their deficit down to one with over seven minutes to go.

Carleton took another one-point lead on a three-pointer by Koelling with 5:40 left, but St. Olaf responded with a three-point play by Roche and a three-pointer by Kirk to start an 8-0 run to go up by seven inside the final 2:30. The Oles went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line down the stretch to lock up the victory. Uhl had 13 points and nine rebounds in the second half alone.

St. Olaf will host Gustavus Adolphus College – the lone remaining undefeated team in MIAC play – in a 7 p.m. start on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at Skoglund Center.