NORTHFIELD, Minn. — St. Olaf entered Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team "owning" the game's final 20 minutes.
 
Through 11 games, the Oles had outscored their opponents by 49 points, 769-720, after the halftime break.
 
Saturday afternoon, however, it was the Cardinals who owned the game's final 20 minutes, outscoring St. Olaf 41-34—including a 14-point second-half showing by Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.)
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that Herculean second-half effort was not quite enough to erase a 12-point halftime deficit, as St. Olaf dealt Saint Mary's a heartbreaking 85-80 setback at Skoglund Center.
 
St. Olaf got out to a quick start, scoring the game's first nine points, but the Cardinals stayed within striking distance, cutting the Oles advantage to six twice, including 24-18 with 8:35 remaining.
 
An 18-8 St. Olaf burst pushed the Ole lead to a game-high 16, 42-26, but again the Cardinals answered, closing the half by scoring 13 of the final 22 points to make it a 12-point game, 51-39, at the intermission.
 
Trailing by 14 with 11 minutes remaining in regulation, the Cardinals went to work, methodically whittling the St. Olaf lead to five, 80-75, on an Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) 3-pointer with 1:40 on the clock. St. Olaf answered with three free throws to make it 83-75.
 
Saint Mary's would sandwich a Ferron put-back buck and a Braden Walbeck (Fall Creek, Wis.) 3-pointers around a pair of Ole free throws in the waning seconds but it was not enough.
 
Fueled by his 14-point second-half effort, Ferron finished with a career-high 22 points, hitting 5 of 8 field goals and posting a near-perfect 12-for-14 effort from the free throw line. Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) chipped in 10 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season—and 10th of his collegiate career—while Walbeck also finished in double figures with a career-best 14 points.
 
As a team, the Cardinals shot 50 percent from the field (25-for-50) and knocked down six 3-pointers, while draining 24 of 30 free throws. St. Olaf, meanwhile, was also red-hot from the field, shooting 53 percent (28-for-53) with eight 3-pointers and a 21-for-28 effort from the charity stripe.
 
The Oles' Ben Figini led all scorers with 24 points, while Justin Pahl chipped in 22 and Riley Aeikens added 16.
 
Saint Mary's (2-4 MIAC, 4-6 overall) is right back in action—and right back on the road—on Monday, traveling to Bethel's Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference showdown against the Royals.