NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team shot a season-best 56.5 percent from the field and broke open a two-point game at halftime in the second half to roll to an 83-59 victory over Macalester College on Wednesday night at Skoglund Center.

St. Olaf (7-4, 3-3 MIAC) shot over 50.0 percent in both halves, including going 19-for-30 (63.3 percent) from the field in the second half and had four scorers in double figures in the win over Macalester (7-3, 4-2 MIAC), which had won three of the last four meetings in the series. The Oles held a slim 40-38 lead at halftime before more than doubling up the Scots in the second half, outscoring the visitors by a 43-21 margin over the final 20 minutes for their third-straight win.

Junior Connor Martin led all scorers with 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting while also handing out a game-high four assists in just 27 minutes for St. Olaf. Senior Brendan Kauls was in double figures for the third-straight game with 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting to go with five rebounds, while fifth-year senior Nathan Hendler added 14 points and a team-high six rebounds. Senior Michael Meriggioli was also in double figures with 13 points and five rebounds, as the Oles shot over 50.0 percent from the field for the fifth time this season.

Martin scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in an opening half that included seven ties and five lead changes. Macalester built its largest lead of the game at 24-19 with nine minutes to go in the half following a three-point play by Robert Grace IV before sophomore Addison Metcalf hit a three-pointer to ignite a 13-3 run that gave St. Olaf a 32-27 lead with 5:04 left.

The Oles shot 50.0 percent (16-for-32) as a team in the opening half but took just two-point lead into the locker room after the Scots went 7-for-16 (43.8 percent) from three-point range in the half. Martin, Kauls, Hendler, and Meriggioli combined for 33 of St. Olaf's 40 first-half points.

Macalester got within two points twice in the first three minutes of the second half before St. Olaf took its first double-digit-point lead of the game with a 10-2 run to go up 54-44 with 13:53 remaining. The Oles led by at least seven the rest of the way and held their largest lead of the game at 81-54 in the final four minutes.

Eight Oles scored in the second half, as St. Olaf racked up 24 points in the paint and forced 11 turnovers after the break that led to a 13-2 advantage in points off turnovers. Macalester cooled off to 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) shooting from three-point range in the second half.

Badou Ba was 7-for-7 from the field to lead the Scots with 14 points. St. Olaf limited Caleb Williams and Coby Gold, who entered the game averaging over 30 points per game as a duo, to a combined 10 points on 3-for-18 shooting.

The Oles begin a stretch of four-straight road games with a trip to Bethel University for a 1 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, Jan. 7.