WINONA, Minn. — When it came to knocking down 3-pointers Saturday afternoon, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball coach Jamison Rusthoven had a full deck of sharp-shooting Cards to draw from.
 
The Cardinals, fueled by Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill.)—Rusthoven's ace in the hole—knocked down seven first-half 3-pointers and raced out to a commanding 42-25 lead at the half.
 
Unfortunately, the Oles had an ace or two up their sleeve over the game's final 20 minutes, raining down nine second-half 3-pointers, igniting a 50-25 second-half burst that led St. Olaf to a 75-67 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
St. Olaf knocked down the game's first two field goals, but from there, it was all Saint Mary's, as the Cardinals rattled off 15 straight points—including a pair of treys from Hill—to take a 15-4 lead with 12:34 remaining in the half.
 
The Cardinals pushed that advantage to as many as 20, 42-22—on Hill's fourth 3-pointer of the half—before settling for a 17-point, 42-25 lead at the break.
 
As good as Saint Mary's was from behind the arc in the first half, the Oles were even better in the second, going 9-for-12—while the Cardinals could only connect on 1 of 8 3s over the game's final 20 minutes.
 
Fueled by three 3-pointers, the Oles scored 25 of the first 33 points of the second half to pull even, 50-50 with 11:11 remaining.
 
Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis.) knocked down a field goal to give the Cardinals back the lead, but back-to-back Ole 3-pointers gave St. Olaf a five-point, 59-54 lead—an advantage they would not relinquish.
 
Saint Mary's cut the gap to two twice, but St. Olaf began to pull away in the late stages to seal the win.
 
Kaiser finished with a team-high 15 points—leading five Cardinals in double figures. Hill finished with a career-best 14, while Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.), Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.), and Wylie Ferron all chipped in 11. Ferron also hauled in a career-high 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
 
Riley Aeikens scored a game-high 17 points, and Justin Pahl and Evan O'Dorisio each finished with 16 points for the Oles.
 
The Cardinals (6-12 MIAC, 8-15 overall) close out the home portion of their regular-season schedule on Wednesday, hosting Hamline in a 7 p.m. MIAC game at the Saint Mary's Gym.