NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team picked up its fifth win in its last six games by downing visiting Concordia-Moorhead, 73-67, in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Wednesday evening at Skoglund Center.

Fifth-year senior Nathan Hendler led all scorers with a game-high 21 points and was one of four scorers in double figures for St. Olaf (12-6, 8-5 MIAC), which picked up its fourth-straight home win and improved to 7-1 on its home court this season. After taking the first meeting between the two teams in late-November, Concordia (6-12, 4-9 MIAC) led by 10 late in the first half before the Oles rallied over the final 25 minutes.

Hendler had his second 20-point performance of the season, shooting 7-for-11 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line in the victory. First year Kobe Kirk narrowly missed out on his first-career double-double, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds, while junior Connor Martin added 13 points, eight assists, and three steals. Senior Michael Meriggioli scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.

St. Olaf shot over 50.0 percent from the field for the ninth time in 18 games this season, shooting 51.9 percent (28-for-54) on the night. The Oles also held a 42-32 advantage in points in the paint in the victory.

Matthew Johnson paced Concordia with 20 points and six rebounds, while Jackson Jangula hit all seven of his field goals to added 17 points. Rowan Nelson was also in double figures with 11 for the Cobbers, who shot 47.4 percent (27-for-57) from the field but were just 6-for-21 (28.6 percent) from three-point range.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Dylan Inniger and Jangula highlighted a 10-4 start for Concordia over the first four-plus minutes. St. Olaf weathered the early run by the Cobbers, taking its first lead of the game at 16-14 three minutes later. Already leading 25-22, the visitors scored seven-straight points – five by Johnson – to take their largest lead of the game at 32-22 with 5:28 to go in the half.

St. Olaf scored 15 of the final 19 points of the half to take a 37-36 lead into the locker room, benefitting from a late technical foul in the closing seconds to gain the halftime advantage. Hendler had 12 of his 21 points in the opening half for the Oles, while Johnson led the Cobbers with 10 at the break.

Meriggioli scored eight points, including sinking back-to-back three-pointers, over the first two minutes of the second half, as St. Olaf took its largest lead of the game at 49-38 with 16:27 remaining. The visitors erased the deficit and went up by one at 54-53 with 12 minutes to go with a 16-4 run that ended with back-to-back buckets by Johnson.

Hendler swung the lead back to St. Olaf by scoring the next five points, as the Oles led for the final 11-plus minutes of the contest. The Oles pushed their lead to seven at 65-58 with 8:14 on the clock on a three-pointer by Martin and held a two-possession lead the rest of the way.

St. Olaf hits the road to face Saint John's University in Collegeville on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 3 p.m.