NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball had all five of its starters score in double figures in a 74-65 victory over Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) foe Gustavus Adolphus College on Wednesday evening at Skoglund Center.

After dropping the first meeting in St. Peter in December, St. Olaf (10-6, 6-5 MIAC) earned a split of the regular-season series with Gustavus (6-10, 6-5 MIAC) and pulled into a tie for fourth in the MIAC standings with the Gusties with the nine-point win. Each of the last five meetings between the two programs since 2021 – and 11 of the last 15 since 2016 – have been decided by fewer than 10 points.

Fifth-year senior Nathan Hendler led St. Olaf with 17 points on 7-for-14 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds, while scoring 15 of his 17 points in the second half. First year Kobe Kirk added 16 points, while junior Connor Martin chipped in with 14 points, eight assists, and four steals. Seniors Brendan Kauls and Michael Meriggioli nearly recorded double-doubles, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds and 11 points and nine rebounds, respectively.

Wyatt Olson paced the Gusties with 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting in 24 minutes off the bench. After combining for 61 points in the first meeting, Evan Wieker and Spencer Swanson scored 16 and 15 points, respectively, for the visitors, who shot just 38.9 percent (28-for-72) from the field and 14.3 percent (3-for-21) from three-point range.

St. Olaf shot an even 50.0 percent (17-for-34) in the second half to finish at 46.9 percent (30-for-64) for the game. The Oles were just 5-for-20 (25.0 percent) from behind the arc but held a 41-38 edge on the glass and scored 46 points in the paint.

Gustavus missed its first seven shots of the game and started the game by making just two of its first 16 attempts, as St. Olaf got out to an 11-4 lead over the first seven minutes. After the cold-shooting start, the Gusties scored 15 of the next 18 points to take a 19-14 lead at the 8:52 mark and stretched its lead to 28-18 – the largest lead of the game for either team – three minutes later.

Down by 10, the Oles scored the next eight points, including four by Kirk, to get it back to a two-point game late in the half and went into the locker room down just two at 35-33. Martin and Kirk combined for 19 first-half points for St. Olaf, while Olson surpassed his season average with 13 at the break for Gustavus.

In the second half, the Gusties continued to lead until the Oles went on an 8-0 run to grab a 43-41 advantage on a transition layup by Meriggioli with 12:34 remaining. Neither team led by more than three points until St. Olaf put together a 13-4 run to break a 50-50 tie and go up 63-54 with 4:35 on the clock. Five Oles scored during the run that concluded with a three-point play by Kirk and a three-pointer by Meriggioli.

Gustavus hung around, however, and climbed to within four, 65-61, with 2:35 left before Hendler hit a three-pointer, only for the Gusties to score the next four to make it a three-point game with 1:32 left. Martin found Hendler underneath for a layup on the next possession and Hendler hit a pair of free throws after getting a steal to seal the victory.

St. Olaf continues a run of three-straight home games by hosting Hamline University on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 1 p.m.