Forward Taylor Montero’s 18 points and 13 rebounds weren’t enough for the No. 12-ranked St. Thomas men’s basketball team as it fell to St. Olaf 63-53 in the MIAC championship game Sunday afternoon at Schoenecker Arena.

While the score remained close through most of the game, the Tommies (22-5, 18-5) struggled executing down the stretch, turning the ball over four times in the last five minutes, and shooting just 36 percent from the field and 18 percent from behind the arc in the game. Coach John Tauer said Sunday was another physical game as his team expected it would be, similar to the previous two matchups against St. Olaf this season.

“I’m proud of how hard our guys played as they have all year,” Tauer said. “Bottom line if you look at the 40 minutes of the game, it mirrored the other two in a lot of ways, and unfortunately today we came out on the wrong end.”

Early in the game, guard Grant Shaeffer got to the rim for a layup and on the next possession drove the lane and found Montero for a corner 3-pointer, giving the Tommies an 11-5 lead. Shaeffer said his team needs to stay aggressive and not expect to win.

“We gotta give credit to St. Olaf, they’re a great team,” Shaeffer said. “Coach Tauer said in the locker room, they beat us tonight. For whatever reason, we didn’t bring it the last 12-15 minutes or so.”

Montero and forward Zach Riedeman led the way offensively in the first half, scoring 9 and 8 points, respectively. The rest of the Tommies combined for 3-of-14 shooting from the field, but St. Thomas went into halftime trailing just 27-25.

Riedeman and Montero traded baskets with each other, scoring the first eight Tommie points out of the break, but St. Thomas wasn’t able to neutralize St. Olaf’s (22-5, 17-3) offense and fell behind 41-33 with 12:43 left in the game.

Center Conner Nord drew back-to-back and ones to bring the Tommies within one point with 6:47 to play in the second half, bringing the St. Thomas fans to their feet. Nord finished with 7 points and 7 rebounds and said St. Olaf’s ability to get the loose balls made a difference down the stretch.

“They were strong with the ball, and I guess they just wanted it more,” Nord said. “We know we have to be better than that and now if we get into the tournament it’s win or go home, so we gotta play every game like it’s our last.”

St. Thomas made a final run with about a minute remaining in the game when Shaeffer connected on a mid-range pull-up jumper, bringing the Tommies within four points of the Oles. St. Thomas failed to score for the remainder of the game, while St. Olaf drained 6-of-6 free throws to clinch its first ever MIAC postseason title.

The Oles connected on 27-of-34 free throws, while the Tommies managed to hit only 12 of their 20 attempts from the charity stripe. Tauer said he told his guys that “part of being on a team is the journey of a season.”

“We talk always with our team about trying to get better every day, and certainly, I hope we learned some things this game,” Tauer said. “I absolutely love coaching these guys, today was disappointing but still very proud of their effort.”

The Tommies won the rebounding battle 35-34, but turned the ball over 14 times, compared to the Oles 10. Riedeman chipped in 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

With the win, St. Olaf clinches an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament, while St. Thomas will find out its tournament fate during Monday’s selection show.

Kyle Jonas can be reached jona7984@stthomas.edu