NORTHFIELD, Minn. – In a game between two teams vying for spots in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs, the St. Olaf College men's basketball team weathered a second-half run by visiting Saint Mary's University (Minn.) and defeated the Cardinals, 74-62, on Saturday afternoon at Skoglund Center.
St. Olaf (9-9, 6-7 MIAC) held a 22-point lead with 13:10 to go before Saint Mary's (8-9, 5-7 MIAC) went on a 19-2 run over a six-and-a-half minute span to get within five. The Oles responded by scoring the next six points and led by at least nine the rest of the way to earn a split in the season series between the two programs.
With the win, St. Olaf leapfrogged Saint Mary's into the sixth and final playoff spot with still seven games remaining.
First year Michael Meriggioli made all six of his shots from the field on his way to a career-high 16 points, while senior Troy Diggins Jr. added 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Senior Nate Albers scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half for St. Olaf, which never trailed in the game.
Diggins Jr. and Meriggioli combined for 19 points in the first half to help St. Olaf to a 37-23 halftime lead. Leading 23-19 with 7:05 left in the half, the Oles went on an 8-0 run to push their lead to double figures for the first time on a three-pointer by Diggins Jr. with 4:29 to go and took a 14-point lead at the half after scoring 14 of the half's final 18 points.
A three-pointer by first year Charlie Haff with 13:56 left in the second half gave St. Olaf its largest lead of the game at 49-27. After a three-pointer by sophomore Joe Thursby with 13:10 to go kept the lead at 22, the Cardinals held the Oles scoreless for 5:05 of game time to close the gap to 11 as part of an 11-0 run.
Two free throws by senior Noah Beck were the lone points for St. Olaf during a 19-2 run by Saint Mary's that cut the deficit to five, 54-49, with 6:41 remaining. The Oles responded with an 8-2 run that included a three-pointer by Albers and a jumper by Meriggioli to get the lead back to double digits and never looked back.
Greg Martin and Kareem Anthony-Bello helped Saint Mary's to a 33-13 advantage in bench points by scoring 23 second-half points. Martin and Eli Cave paced the Cardinals with 14 points, Anthony-Bello had 13 and Raheem Anthony added 12, with Anthony-Bello adding a game-high 11 rebounds.
St. Olaf made 10 three-pointers in the win compared to just two for Saint Mary's, which was 1-for-12 from behind the arc in the second half.
The Oles visit Hamline on Wednesday, Jan. 29 for a 7 p.m. tip-off at Hutton Arena in St. Paul.