St. Olaf wins first-ever MIAC Men's Basketball Playoff title - Mar 16, 2014

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- It was already a historic season for St. Olaf team, but Sunday that history got even richer as the Oles took down top-seeded and three-time defending tournament champion St. Thomas in the 2013-14 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Men's Basketball Playoff championship game. No. 2-seeded St. Olaf never trailed in the second half in a 63-53 victory, and captured its first conference postseason title in its championship-game debut.
The host Tommies (22-5), who captured their ninth-straight MIAC regular-season title this season, went on a 4-0 run early in the second half to tie the game at 29-29, but St. Olaf's Justin Pahl (6'4''-G) scored on back-to-back possessions and Sterling Nielsen (6'1''-G) added a pair of free throws to push the lead back to six.
A Nathan Kuck (6'2''-G) jumper gave St. Olaf a 41-33 lead with 12:43 remaining, but St. Thomas surged back again. Taylor Montero (6'4''-G) capped a 7-0 run with a three-pointer to make it a one point game. After the Oles pushed the lead back to three, UST's Conner Nord grabbed an offensive rebound, put it back in and got fouled, but missed on the free-throw attempt to tie the game.
Nielsen then made 3-of-4 of the line on the next two possessions and Connor Gunderson (6'6''-G) hit a jumper, and the Tommies never got within four the rest of the way. In the final two minutes, St. Olaf went 8-for-8 from the charity stripe to seal the team's first-ever MIAC Playoff title, and its first trip to the NCAA Tournament. With the win, St. Olaf improved its school-record win total to 22 (22-5) in Head Coach Dan Kosmoski i's milestone 20th season. It was the Oles' eighth trip to the MIAC Playoffs, which began in 1984-85.
St. Thomas is also 22-5 after the title-game loss, which is the team's first MIAC Playoff defeat under Head Coach Johnny Tauer . UST had won the past four tournament titles - the past three under Tauer - and seven of the last eight entering Sunday. It was St. Thomas' 19th appearance in the MIAC Playoff championship game, and it has won 12 total postseason titles. The Tommies defeated the Oles twice by a total of five points in the regular season, but Sunday St. Olaf proved how tough it is to beat a good team three times.
Pahl turned in a terrific performance to lead St. Olaf in the title game. He went 9-for-9 from the line en route to a game-high 20 points. Nielsen continued his tremendous postseason play as well with 16 points and three assists with an 11-for-12 performance at the line, and Gunderson added nine points and six rebounds. Kuck added eight points off the bench for St. Olaf, which shot nearly 80 percent (79.4) from the free-throw line in the win, and outscored UST 27-12 at the line.
The Tommies got an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double from Taylor Montero to lead the way, as Montero managed six offensive rebounds and shot 7-for-12 from the floor. Zach Riedemann (6'4''-F) added 14 points, four boards and four assists, and Nord had seven points and seven rebounds. St. Thomas shot just 36.5 percent from the floor and 18.8 percent (3-for-16) from behind the three-point arc.
Not only did St. Olaf win the MIAC Playoff title and receive the postseason championship plaque, but it also received the MIAC's automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. St. Thomas will have to wait a day to find out if it will join the Oles in the bracket. The Tommies reached the Final Four a year ago, and won the national title in 2011. The national tournament field and pairings will be announced Monday at 11:30 a.m. during a live selection show on the NCAA's web site.
Fans can re-live all the drama of the 2013-14 MIAC Men's Basketball Playoffs on the tournament's home page, which includes complete results, stats, recaps, photos and more. The MIAC also introduced a new interactive bracket to help fans follow the action. Fans can still interact about the MIAC Playoffs on social media through the MIAC's Facebook page or Twitter account, using the hashtags #MIACMBB and #MIACPlayoffs.

Courtesy of MIAC

MIAC Tournament Final: St. Olaf - St. Thomas 63-53

MIAC Tournament Semifinals:
St. Thomas - Bethel 74-59
St. Olaf - Gustavus 66-53

All-MIAC 1st Team 2014
	Kornbaum		Zimmermann		Fraase		Ford		Romportl