Senior center Ben Figini had 20 points and the visiting and No. 2-seed Oles shot 54 percent on the game and rallied to post a 72-66 win at top-seed St. Thomas in Sunday's MIAC men's basketball playoff championship game at Schoenecker Arena.

Senior Riley Aeikens scored all 13 of his points in the second half for St. Olaf (18-9), which advances to the NCAA playoff for the third year in a row and second time as conference automatic qualifier.

The Tommies (24-3) came in ranked No. 1 in the West Region and No. 7 nationally. They are expected to get an at-large berth when the Division III field is released on Monday, the program's 11th in a row.

The Oles fell behind by nine points in the first half and trailed 36-32 at halftime. They used a 14-1 run midway through the second half to turn a 46-41 deficit into a 55-47 lead. St. Thomas never got closer than five points thereafter as St. Olaf sank 16-of-20 free throws after halftime.

Aeikens added six rebounds and five assists. Austin Majeskie had 11 points and six blocks, and Justin Pahl scored 12 points.

UST's Grant Shaeffer scored 20 points, Taylor Montero scored 15, and Ryan Saarela had nine rebounds and four blocks.

The Tommies had won 20 of their previous 21 games including two close regular-season decisions over St. Olaf. They shot 52 percent in the first half but just 35 percent after halftime, including just 1-of-12 behind the arc.