MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Senior Dominic Bledsoe hit the game-winning pull-up jumper with 2.9 seconds remaining as the St. Olaf College men's basketball team handed No. 22-ranked Augsburg University its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) loss of the season by a 77-73 score on Saturday afternoon at Si Melby Hall.

St. Olaf (11-9, 7-8 MIAC) led by as many as a dozen in the second half, but Augsburg (14-3, 11-1 MIAC) battled back from a 10-point deficit with 5:02 to go to tie the game at 73-73 on a three-point play by Joe Palmer with 29 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, the Oles ran the clock down before Bledsoe hit a mid-range jumper from the right wing to deliver the game-winning shot with just under three seconds to go.

After a pair of timeouts, the Auggies attempted to inbound the ball to near half court, but were called for traveling in the catch and were forced to foul after the turnover. Junior Charlie Haff drained two free throws with less than a second remaining to seal the win.

The victory was St. Olaf's first over a nationally-ranked team since a 75-62 home win over No. 4-ranked Saint John's on Feb. 3, 2018.

St. Olaf shot an even 50.0 percent (30-for-60) from the field in the game and had four double-digit scorers, led by senior Nathan Hendler's 15-point game. Bledsome had 14 points and six assists, while junior Michael Meriggioli had his second double-double of the season – the third of his career – with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore Connor Martin added 11 points and five assists for St. Olaf, which led for 33:19 and trailed for just 54 seconds in the game.

The Oles jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the early stages, but the Auggies recovered to take a short-lived lead by scoring the next seven points. Hendler put St. Olaf back on top, 12-11, with a three-pointer to start an 8-0 run that ended midway through the opening half.

Meriggioli scored the first four points of a 9-0 run that broke a 22-22 tie and gave the Oles their largest lead of the half with 4:32 remaining. Augsburg scored 12 of the final 18 points of the half to trim its deficit to 37-34 at the break. Hendler and junior Brendan Kauls had nine points apiece in the opening 20 minutes.

After Palmer opened the second half with a jumper, St. Olaf scored hit four-straight shots on a 9-0 run to extend its lead to double figures at 46-36 with 15:23 to go. A bucket in the paint by Haff with just over 13 minutes left gave the Oles their largest lead of the game at 53-41 and St. Olaf still led by a 11 with 7:09 remaining before the Auggies put together a late rally.

Trailing 65-54, Augsburg went on a 10-2 run in just over three minutes to make it a one-possession game, 67-64, with 3:56 to play. With the Oles still up three, Palmer converted a three-point play out of a timeout to tie the game at 73-73 to set up Bledsoe's heroics.

St. Olaf held Palmer – the MIAC's leading scorer at over 20 points per game – to a season-low eight points on 3-for-9 shooting. Conner Knoepfle paced the Auggies with 15 points, while Will Schmidt had 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Matt Carik and Jack Sorensen had 11 apiece to give Augsburg four double-figure scorers.

The Oles visit Saint Mary's for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Monday, Feb. 7 in Winona.