ST. PETER, Minn. – Seniors Troy Diggins Jr. and Nate Albers scored 30 of their combined 46 points in the second half, as the St. Olaf College men's basketball team claimed an 84-68 victory at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Saturday afternoon at Gus Young Court.
St. Olaf (6-4, 3-2 MIAC) trailed Gustavus (3-8, 3-3 MIAC) by two, 37-35, at the half before Diggins Jr. and Albers each scored 15 points after the break, as the Oles outscored the Gusties, 49-31, in the second half to pick up the road win. Diggins Jr. finished with a game-high 24 points and added eight rebounds, while Albers recorded a double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Diggins Jr. shot 8-for-14 from the field, including 3-for-6 from behind the arc and 5-for-5 at the free-throw line, on the way to a season-high 24 points. Albers was 7-for-13 from the floor, including 3-for-5 on three-pointers and made all five of his free throws, to collect his third double-double of the season.
Junior Dominic Bledsoe and sophomore Carter Uphus joined Diggins Jr. and Albers in double figures, as Bledsoe had 12 points, five assists and five steals and Uphus added 12 points and eight rebounds. St. Olaf made all 18 of its free-throw attempts in the game, including going 16-for-16 in the second half.
The Oles opened up early leads of 6-0 and 11-5 before the Gusties claimed their first lead of the game, 14-13, with 13:30 to go in the first half on a three-pointer by Benji Lundberg. Later in the half, a quick 5-0 run gave Gustavus its largest lead of the half, 29-22, before St. Olaf scored the next six points.
The Gusties shot 46.2 percent (6-for-13) from behind the arc in the opening half, compared to 21.4 percent (3-for-14) for the Oles, to take a 37-35 lead into the locker room.
St. Olaf quickly reclaimed the lead in the second half, starting the half on a 14-3 run in the first 4:35 to take the lead for good. Uphus scored six-straight points to end the run after the Oles started the half with a three-point play by Diggins Jr. and an Uphus layup.
After trailing by 11 with 12:50 to go, Gustavus climbed back within two, 53-51, with 9:40 remaining with a 9-0 run. St. Olaf responded by making its next four three-pointers, two by Albers, one by Bledsoe and one by Diggins Jr., to increase its lead to 14 with 5:21 on the clock and put the game out of reach.
Logan Rezac paced Gustavus with 21 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Kaleb Feahn was the only other Gustie in double figures with 15 off the bench. After making 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) attempts from three-point range in the first half, Gustavus was just 1-for-11 from deep in the second half.
St. Olaf hosts nationally-ranked Saint John's on Monday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. at Skoglund Center.