EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team jumped out to a 14-2 lead to start the game and only trailed for 20 seconds in a 68-60 non-conference victory over UW-Eau Claire on Thursday evening at W.L. Zorn Arena.

St. Olaf (6-3) made four-straight three-pointers as part of the 14-2 start over the first 4:09 of the game and made its first five tries from behind the arc in the early stages. UW-Eau Claire (8-5) fought back to take its only lead of the game at 20-19, but the Oles scored the next 12 points and led by at least eight the rest of the way.

The game was St. Olaf's first contest in 19 days due to a weather-related postponement and final exams. The win was the Oles' second in the series against the Blugolds and its first in Eau Claire.

Senior Nathan Hendler scored a game-high 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including going 3-for-3 from behind the arc, to tie his career-high scoring output set in St. Olaf's last game against Augsburg on Dec. 11. Junior Charlie Haff had his first collegiate double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while sophomore Connor Martin added 12 points, a career-high eight assists, and four steals.

The Oles hit a season-high eight three-pointers in the win, shooting 8-for-17 (47.1 percent) from behind the arc, while the Blugolds were just 6-for-24 (25.0 percent) from long distance. St. Olaf also forced a season-high 18 turnovers and scored 20 fast-break points in the game.

After a layup by Martin opened the scoring, St. Olaf's next five makes were all from behind the arc, as Hendler and Haff each sank to three-pointers and senior Dominic Bledsoe added another one. The three-point barrage led the Oles to a 17-6 lead 5:35 into the game after the Blugolds opened the game just 1-for-8 from the field.

UW-Eau Claire responded with a 14-2 run capped by a layup by Brock Voigt to grab a 20-19 lead with 8:59 remaining in the opening half. On the next possession, Martin swung the lead back in St. Olaf's favor with a layup to start a 12-0 run that included baskets by five different Oles to give St. Olaf a 31-20 lead with 3:45 to go in the half.

The Oles took a 38-24 halftime lead after shooting 51.6 percent (16-for-31) from the field and 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes. St. Olaf also forced 10 first-half turnovers and turned them into a 13-3 advantage in points off turnovers.

Early in the second half, the Oles stretched their lead to 20, 48-28, with 15:38 remaining by starting the half on a 10-4 run. Two and a half minutes later, Hendler's third three-pointer of the game gave St. Olaf its largest lead of the game at 53-32.

The Blugolds scored nine-straight points over a two-and-a-half minute stretch midway through the second half to get within 12 but could get no closer until the final minute. Hendler was 4-for-4 from the field while scoring nine of his 17 points in the second half and Haff added eight points and seven boards after the break.

Michael Casper scored all of his team-high 14 points in the second half for UW-Eau Claire. Voigt and David Ijadimbola were also in double figures with 11 points and 10 points, respectively, for the hosts.

The Oles return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play by hosting Hamline on Monday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. at Skoglund Center. Besides the small group of St. Olaf students on campus for Interim, all fans must be on a pass list with one of the teams, with a limit of two fans per student-athlete per team, per campus policy in effect through Feb. 6.