EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – In its first game in 18 days, the St. Olaf College men's basketball team was plagued by a slow start in an 87-60 non-conference loss to UW-Eau Claire on Saturday evening at Zorn Arena.

UW-Eau Claire (7-4) held St. Olaf (4-7) to two points over the first seven-plus minutes as part of a 14-2 start to the game and led for all but 16 seconds of the game. The 27-point win marked the largest margin of victory in the series for either team, as the Blugolds avenged losses to the Oles in each of the last two seasons. Prior to Saturday, the last four meetings in the series had all been decided by eight points or fewer.

Senior Connor Martin scored a team-high 17 points on 8-for-14 shooting for St. Olaf, which got 10 points apiece from sophomore Kobe Kirk and fifth-year senior Brendan Kauls. Senior Caleb Greer added nine points, while first year Jachin Mertes totaled seven points and four rebounds off the bench.

UW-Eau Claire established season-high totals in points (87) and field-goal percentage (56.5 percent) and had four double-digit scorers in the victory. Carter Huschka poured in a game-high 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting for the Blugolds, who shot 43.5 percent (10-for-23) from three-point range in the game. Cade Hall neared a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds, Gunnar Tebon chipped in with 14 points in 17 minutes off the bench, and Michael Casper was 3-for-6 from three-point range on his way to a 13-point outing.

The hosts jumped out to a 14-2 lead over the first 6:43 by making seven of their first 11 field goals and limiting St. Olaf to 1-for-8 shooting early on. Already up by 12, UW-Eau Claire ballooned its lead to 22-4 with 11:25 to go in the opening half after Casper hit consecutive three-pointers on eight side of a layup by Drew Maloney.

The Blugolds took a 44-22 lead into the halftime break after shooting 54.8 percent (17-for-31) from the field in the opening half, while the Oles hit at just a 34.8 percent (8-for-23) clip. St. Olaf also had 10 first-half turnovers that led to a 13-0 advantage for UW-Eau Claire in points off turnovers.

In the second half, St. Olaf got its offense going, shooting 14-for-23 (60.9 percent) from the field, but could cut into its deficit, as UW-Eau Claire shot 18-for-31 (58.1 percent) in its own right. Martin tallied 13 of his 17 points after the break for the Oles, while Huschka matched Martin with 13 second-half points. Despite the hot shooting, St. Olaf could not get closer than 19 points in the second half.

With their non-conference slate complete, the Oles play four of their next five games at home, beginning with a 7 p.m. tip-off against Saint John's University on Wednesday, Jan. 3.