MINNEAPOLIS (2/13/99) -- Devean George (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret HS) scored eight of his game-high 37 points in the final 2:33, leading Augsburg College to an 85-81 victory over St. John's University in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Si Melby Hall.

Augsburg, with its 15th straight victory, is now 19-2 overall and 16-1 in the MIAC. St. John's drops to 10-10 overall and 8-8 in the MIAC.

Augsburg led 70-61 with 7:58 left in the second half, but Troy Bigalke (So., Monticello, Minn.) scored eight points in a St. John's 14-4 run, giving the Johnnies a 75-74 lead with 3:13 remaining. But Augsburg rallied with a 7-2 run of its own, taking the lead for good.

George, who had 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and two steals, played all 40 minutes of the game. He now has 2,092 points and 784 rebounds in 89 career games. George is inching closer to the school's career scoring record, held by current head coach Brian Ammann (2,271 points, 1981-85). He is also second in school history in career rebounds. The record, held by Dan Anderson (1961-65), is 1,211 rebounds.

George, a multiple All-America selection last year, scored in double figures for the 85th time in his 89-game career, and the 77th time in his last 78 games. The double-double was George's 31st of his career (15th this season), and his scoring performance marked the 59th time in his career that he has scored 20 or more points in a single game, and the 19th time he has scored 30 or more points.

Kris Long (Sr., Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) had 12 points and nine rebounds in the game, while Jeoffrey Reed (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./De La Salle HS) had 10 points and four assists. Kevin Van Rossum (Jr., Green Bay, Wis./Preble HS) had nine points, four assists and four steals.

Bigalke had 22 points and eight rebounds for the Johnnies, who were led by Nate Guetter's (Sr., Wabasso, Minn.) 23 points and 16 rebounds. John Frie (Jr., Monticello, Minn.) had 13 points, nine assists and three steals, and Dusty Lamker (Fr., Golden Valley, Minn.) had 10 points and three steals.

Augsburg travels to St. Olaf on Monday night (2/15/99), while St. John's hosts Bethel. Both games are at 7:30 p.m.

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Augsburg 85, St. John's 81
Feb. 13, 1999 at Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn.
Attendance: 1,500.
Technical Fouls: None.

Score by Periods                                1st   2nd Total
St. John's University (10-10 overall, 8-8 MIAC) 39    42    81
Augsburg College (19-2 overall, 16-1 MIAC)      44    41    85

St. John's University (81) FGs    3FGs   FTs    O-D--Reb  PF   Pts. Ast. Trn. Blk. Stl. MP
10 Luke Witt               1-2    0-0    0-0    1-0--1    4    2    0    1    0    0    9:24
*12 Dusty Lamker           3-13   2-6    2-3    1-1--2    2    10   1    1    0    3    35:33
21 Mike Nester             2-3    0-0    0-0    1-1--2    0    4    1    1    0    0    11:43
*22 John Frie              6-12   1-1    0-0    0-2--2    2    13   9    1    0    3    32:12
*24 Sam Bugbee             1-7    1-3    2-2    2-1--3    3    5    3    1    0    0    29:37
*25 Nate Guetter           8-16   0-2    7-9    8-8--16   5    23   0    2    1    1    33:33
30 Drew Gibson             0-0    0-0    0-0    0-0--0    1    0    0    0    0    0    2:23
32 Saul McBroom            1-3    0-0    0-0    1-1--2    2    2    0    1    0    0    5:01
40 Ryan Dusha              0-1    0-0    0-0    1-0--1    1    0    0    0    0    0    3:38
*44 Troy Bigalke           9-16   2-6    2-3    2-6--8    3    22   2    3    0    1    36:56
Team                                            2-0--2                   0
Totals                     31-73  6-18  13-17  19-20--39  23   81   16   11   1    8    200:00
Deadball Rebounds: 1
Field-goal shooting: First half--15-39 (38.5%), Second half--16-34 (47.1%), Total--31-73 (42.5%).
Three-point shooting: First half--3-10 (30.0%), Second half--3-8 (37.5%), Total--6-18 (33.3%).
Free-throw shooting: First half--6-8 (75.0%), Second half--7-9 (77.8%), Total--13-17 (76.5%).

Augsburg College (85)      FGs    3FGs   FTs    O-D--Reb  PF   Pts. Ast. Trn. Blk. Stl. MP
*3 Jeoffrey Reed           3-6    1-3    3-4    0-3--3    3    10   4    5    0    1    34:17
*22 Kevin Van Rossum       3-9    3-8    0-0    0-1--1    2    9    4    1    0    2    26:50
24 Josh Natzel             0-0    0-0    2-2    0-0--0    2    2    2    0    0    0    5:43
31 Eric Herried            1-2    0-1    1-2    0-1--1    0    3    0    0    0    0    8:02
32 John Anderson           0-2    0-2    0-0    0-0--0    0    0    1    1    0    0    7:58
33 Adam Erickson           1-1    0-0    0-0    0-0--0    1    2    0    1    0    0    5:12
*40 Devean George          12-21  4-8    9-10   1-10--11  3    37   3    3    2    2    40:00
*43 Jason Beckendorf       2-5    0-1    2-2    0-2--2    1    6    3    3    0    0    31:58
45 Kyle Crubel             0-0    0-0    0-0    0-0--0    0    0    0    0    0    0    3:36
50 Drazen Kasaic           2-2    0-0    0-0    1-2--3    3    4    0    1    0    0    9:55
*52 Kris Long              1-3    0-0    10-12  4-5--9    3    12   1    3    1    0    26:29
Team                                            3-2--5                   0
Totals                     25-51  8-23   27-32  9-26--35  18   85   18   18   3    5    200:00
Deadball Rebounds: 2
Field-goal shooting: First half--14-21 (50.0%), Second half--11-23 (47.8%), Total--25-51 (49.0%).
Three-point shooting: First half--5-14 (35.7%), Second half--3-9 (33.3%), Total--8-23 (34.8%).
Free-throw shooting: First half--11-12 (91.7%), Second half--16-20 (80.0%), Total--27-32 (84.4%).