Riley Aeikens hit the tying and go-ahead free throws with 39 seconds left, Justin Pahl added two more with 16 seconds to go and the St. Olaf men's basketball team rallied from 10 points down in the second half to beat North Central 80-78 in the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament Friday in De Pere, Wis.
St. Olaf (19-9) advanced to face host St. Norbert, a 77-58 winner over Northwestern (Roseville).
Ben Figini scored 21 points for St. Olaf, Pahl had 18 and Austin Majeskie 16. Connor Raridon went 14-for-14 from the line and had a game-best 22 points for the Redbirds (19-8).
North Central led 51-41 with 13:58 left. The Oles, who went 19-for-21 from the free-throw line in the second half, scored the next seven points.
St. Thomas 78, Central (Iowa) 66: Ryan Saarela scored 25 points and shot 11-for-14 from the floor as the host Tommies (25-3) rolled over the Dutch (19-10).
Taylor Montero added 16 points and 15 rebounds and Grant Shaeffer scored 13 points for the Tommies, who advanced to play Elmhurst, a 73-63 winner over Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
St. Norbert 77, Northwestern (Roseville) 58: Bob Bobinski and D.J. DeValk combined for 42 points and the Green Knights (24-2) held the Eagles to 39.7 percent shooting. Will Gisler had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Northwestern (22-6), which advanced to the Sweet 16 a year ago.
Women
St. Thomas 76, Loras 68 (OT): Katie Stone scored 32 points — including 10 in the fourth quarter and 10 more in overtime — and the Tommies (25-3) rallied from a 12-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Duhawks (19-9) in overtime in River Falls, Wis.
