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The Olies jumped to an early lead, running over the Piper defense and taking what were essentially unguarded shots.

“On defense they ran us off a lot of screens and we just didn’t communicate,” said Kory Kelzer, a second-year starter for Hamline.

That lack of communication led to open shots for outstanding players like Chad Norberg. Norberg led the Olies with 22 points, 12 of which were scored off three-pointers.

St. Olaf further muscled the Pipers under the basket and in the paint, getting second and third chances at poor shots that should have put Hamline in control of the ball.

“If we had rebounded the ball a little better, we would have given ourselves a great chance to win the game,” Kelzer said.
The Pipers seemed unable to keep up with the Olies, who outscored Hamline 46-34 in the first half. St. Olaf also forced 11 first-half turnovers compared to only eight forced by the Pipers.

Hamline coach Barry Wohler saw that the team was beating themselves by not playing their style of ball in the first half and told them to tighten up their defense in the second half and to keep St. Olaf off the boards. If the team didn’t change something, the win would be out of reach soon in the second half. The team would have to make some changes to dig back out from the hole they’d fallen into. Thankfully, coach Wohler’s words didn’t fall on deaf ears.

Piper seniors stepped up in a way they have few times this season, leading the charge against the Oles. The team forced eight turnovers and only gave up eight, but the real difference came from strong defense and rebounding.

“The seniors stepped up. They were given a chance, and they really stepped up and played,” said Kelzer.

The Olies tried to push over the Pipers, but this time the Pipers didn’t budge. Hamline was able to pull down 48 total boards, and held St. Olaf to only 42 total. They contained the Olies offense in a way they hadn’t in this game. It looked as though the Pipers might make this comeback work, as they matched or bettered their opponents in nearly every stat category.

Offense also made a strong push for the Pipers. They weren’t able to muscle the Olies, but they out-hustled them in the second half. Their work nearly paid off too, as they outscored St. Olaf 27-25 in the second half.

Unfortunately, the deficit proved too much to tackle, and the final buzzer rang with the score still 71-61 in favor of the Olies.

“We really showed our heart by trying to come back from an early deficit,” said first-year guard Zev Kujolic. Sadly their hearts couldn’t make up for what their bodies had failed to do in the first half. The Olies returned home with the win, splitting the season series. The dome turned out to be no home for the Pipers, who move to 7-12 for the season, 6-8 in the MIAC.