NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team missed out on a chance to reclaim the Goat with an 80-68 loss to crosstown-rival Carleton College in the teams' regular-season finale on Saturday at Skoglund Center.
After St. Olaf (15-10, 11-5 MIAC) topped Carleton (15-10, 11-5 MIAC) by a 79-70 margin at West Gym on Jan. 3, the Knights returned the favor by shooting 54.7 percent (29-for-53) overall to keep possession of the Goat with their sixth win in the last seven meetings between the two rivals. Prior to the game, the Oles celebrated their four NCAA Tournament teams in a five-season stretch from 2013-14 through 2017-18 on the court.
With the loss and results elsewhere in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), St. Olaf fell to the No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 seed Augsburg University in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24. The Auggies swept the Oles during the regular season, winning by scores of 101-77 and 101-84.
Sophomore
AJ Uhl paced St. Olaf with a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double while shooting 10-for-20 from the field. Senior
Kobe Kirk tallied 17 points as the only other Ole in double figures as St. Olaf shot just 5-for-20 (25.0 percent) from there-point range in the loss.
Matt Drake and Sam Koelling combined for 46 points to lead the way for Carleton. Drake had a game-high 24 points on 10-for-16 from the field, while Koelling recorded 22 points and seven boards while hitting 9-of-13 overall. Josh Engelberg was also in double figures with 14 points and nine rebounds for the Knights, who never trailed in the win.
After trailing 10-4 early, St. Olaf scored the next six points to tie the game seven minutes in, but Carleton responded with a 7-0 run that included five points from Drake to prompt a timeout. The Knights extended their lead to as many as 12 and 30-18 with 5:53 to go in the half, but the Oles put together a 7-1 spurt to make it a six-point game with 1:25 remaining. A Koelling three-pointer in the final minute sent Carleton into the break with a 37-25 lead.
After shooting just 39.3 percent (11-for-28) in the first half, St. Olaf heated up to 51.6 percent (17-for-33) in the second but was never able to put a dent in Carleton's lead. The Knights led by as many as 23 inside the final eight minutes and were up by 20 with 4:31 left before the Oles closed the game on an extended 14-6 run.
