NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team made 11 three-pointers in the first half on its way to a 30-point halftime lead and went on to defeat Concordia-Moorhead, 89-68, in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Monday evening at Skoglund Center.

St. Olaf (8-8, 5-6 MIAC) was 11-for-17 from behind the arc in the opening half, as seniors Noah Beck and Troy Diggins Jr. each made four three-pointers, on its way to a 52-22 halftime lead. The Oles led by as many as 46 points in the second half before Concordia (2-13, 0-10 MIAC) closed the game by scoring 38 of the final 51 points over the final 12:46.

Beck was 4-for-5 from three-point range in the first half and 5-for-6 for the game as part of a game-high 17-point night. Diggins Jr. was 4-for-4 from distance before the break and finished with 16 points. First year Michael Meriggioli came off the bench to score 12 and senior Nate Albers added 10 for the Oles, who got points from 11 different players in the win.

Beck and Diggins Jr. made two three-pointers apiece in the first four minutes of the game to help St. Olaf to an early 14-6 lead. After trailing 16-8, the Cobbers scored seven-straight points to get within a point, 16-15, with 12:54 remaining in the opening half before the Oles broke the game open.

St. Olaf made six of its next eight tries from behind the arc as part of a 25-3 run that spanned nearly 10 minutes of game time and put the Oles ahead by 23, 41-18, with 3:05 left before the half. The Oles made 10 of their first 15 three-point attempts over the game's first 14:31 and turned 11 first-half turnovers by the Cobbers into 22 points to take a 52-22 lead into the locker room.

St. Olaf stretched its lead to 67-28 three and a half minutes into the second half following a three-point play by Meriggioli. Another bucket by Meriggioli gave the Oles their largest lead of the night at 76-30 with 12:46 to go before Concordia outscored St. Olaf by a 38-13 margin the rest of the way.

Seven Oles made at least one three-pointer in the win and St. Olaf's 14 three-point makes were its highest total in exactly two years since making 19 in a 98-62 victory over the Cobbers. St. Olaf made 14 of its first 21 attempts from behind the arc before missing its final seven to finish at 50.0 percent (14-for-28) for the game.

First year Luke Barnes scored his first collegiate points on a pair of free throws with 2:56 to go as St. Olaf emptied the bench late on. Senior Travis Fauchald also saw his first minutes of the season after returning from injury.

Braeton Motschenbacher and Ian Schafer combined to score all 21 of their points off the bench in the second half for Concordia. Motschenbacher and Jacob Fredrickson tied for the team lead with 11 points, while Schafer chipped in with 10.

St. Olaf plays the middle of three-straight home games this week when it hosts Augsburg University on Wednesday, Jan. 22 in the second half of a doubleheader at Skoglund Center. Tip-off is slated for 7:45 p.m. following the women's game, which starts at 5:45 p.m.