Box ScoreCOLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – St. Olaf shot 58.3 percent (14-for-24) in the second half to pull away for an 84-73 win at Saint John's on Wednesday, Dec. 10, in Sexton Arena.
The Oles (6-1, 2-1 MIAC) led by as much as 12 (23-11) with 8:35 left in the first half before the Johnnies went on a 22-10 run. The Oles' Sterling Nielsen made a layup with six seconds left to give the visitors a 35-33 lead at the break. SJU (3-3, 1-2 MIAC) shot 61.5 percent (8-for-13) from three-point range in the first half, but made only three of its 11 (27.3 percent) shots inside the arc.
SJU trailed by as little as three, 56-53, with 9:29 remaining, but STO rallied with a 6-0 run and led by at least five points the rest of the way.
Junior
Alex Schmitt (Waconia, Minn.) led all scorers with 25 points, while freshman
Patrick Strom (Fargo, N.D./Shanley) added 18 points off the bench on 6-for-9 shooting from three-point land.
Nielsen and Justin Pahl led STO with 19 points apiece, while Ben Figini chipped in 12 points and 16 rebounds. The Oles out-rebounded SJU 38-26, holding the home team to four offensive rebounds, and tallied 17 points off 10 Johnnie turnovers.
The Johnnies travel to the Chicago area for non-conference games at Elmhurst (Dec. 19) and North Park (Dec. 20) next weekend.
