ST. PAUL, Minn. (2/20/99) -- Augsburg College finished the regular season with its 18th victory in a row, improving to 22-2 overall with a 96-87 victory over Hamline University in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Hamline's Hutton Field House.

Augsburg, which already clinched the MIAC's regular-season championship for the second year in a row, finished with a 19-1 league mark -- winning all 10 of its MIAC games on the road. Augsburg entered this week's play with the third-longest current winning streak in NCAA Division III men's basketball, according to the NCAA. Hamline finished its season 2-22 overall and 1-19 in the MIAC.

Augsburg, rated No. 2 in the NCAA Division III West Region and No. 9 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division III national poll, will host Carleton (15-9 overall, 12-8 MIAC) in a conference playoff semifinal game on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Si Melby Hall. If the Auggies win, they would also host the conference playoff final on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m., also at Si Melby Hall. The conference playoff champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national tournament.

Devean George (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret HS) led all scorers with 29 points and 13 rebounds, along with four assists, fou steals and a blocked shot. George now has 2,158 career points and 825 career rebounds, both second in school history. The school's career scoring record, 2,271 points, is held by current head coach Brian Ammann (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 88th time in his 92-game career, and the 81st time in his last 82 games. The double-double was George's 33rd of his career (18th this season), and his scoring performance marked the 60th time in his career that he has scored 20 or more points in a single game.

George was one of four Auggies to score in double figures, aided by guard Jeoffrey Reed (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./De La Salle HS), who had 16 points, three assists and a steal, and guard Kevin Van Rossum (Jr., Green Bay, Wis./Preble HS), who had 11 points and four assists. Center Kris Long (Sr., Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) had 13 points, six rebounds and four steals.

Landen Beard (Fr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park HS) led the Pipers with 18 points, two assists and five steals, while Jeff Smock (Jr., Big Lake, Minn.) had 17 points, six assists and six rebounds. Tyler Gehrking (So., Byron, Minn.) had 10 points and six rebounds.

---

Augsburg 96, Hamline 87
Feb. 20, 1999 at Hutton Field House, St. Paul, Minn.
Attendance: 200.
Technical Fouls: Augsburg's Kris Long, Augsburg's Jason Beckendorf.

Score by Periods                             1st   2nd  Total
Augsburg College (22-2 overall, 19-1 MIAC)    54   42    96
Hamline University (2-22 overall, 1-19 MIAC)  35   52    87

Augsburg College (96)      FGs    3FGs   FTs    O-D--Reb  PF   Pts. Ast. Trn. Blk. Stl. MP
*3 Jeoffrey Reed           4-6    2-3    6-9    0-4--4    2    16   3    2    0    1    30
*22 Kevin Van Rossum       3-11   3-10   2-2    1-0--1    1    11   4    0    0    1    28
24 Josh Natzel             1-2    0-0    3-4    1-1--2    1    5    1    2    0    0    10
*31 Eric Herried           2-3    1-2    2-2    1-2--3    0    7    0    0    0    0    19
32 John Anderson           0-1    0-1    0-0    0-1--1    3    0    0    0    0    0    4
33 Adam Erickson           2-3    0-0    0-0    0-0--0    0    4    1    0    0    0    13
35 Chris Ohnstad           0-2    0-1    0-0    1-0--1    1    0    0    1    0    0    1
*40 Devean George          9-19   2-2    9-12   4-9--13   2    29   4    2    1    4    35
43 Jason Beckendorf        0-2    0-0    0-0    0-0--0    3    0    0    1    0    0    9
45 Kyle Crubel             1-3    0-0    0-0    2-1--3    3    2    0    2    0    0    10
50 Drazen Kasaic           3-4    0-0    3-4    4-6--10   5    9    5    1    0    0    14
*52 Kris Long              5-10   0-0    3-7    3-3--6    3    13   2    4    0    4    27
Team                                            1-4--5                   1
Totals                     30-66  8-19  28-40  18-31--49  24   96   20   17   1    10   200:00
Deadball Rebounds: 4
Field-goal shooting: First half--17-29 (58.6%), Second half--13-37 (35.1%), Total--30-66 (45.5%)
Three-point shooting: First half--5-8 (62.5%), Second half--3-11 (27.3%), Total--8-19 (42.1%)
Free-throw shooting: First half--15-19 (78.9%), Second half--13-21 (61.9%), Total--28-40 (70.0%)

Hamline University (87)    FGs    3FGs   FTs    O-D--Reb  PF   Pts. Ast. Trn. Blk. Stl. MP
*4 Jeff Smock              4-13   3-7    6-6    2-4--6    2    17   6    2    0    1    33
*10 Mike Granbois          3-6    1-2    1-1    2-1--3    5    8    4    3    0    1    24
12 Jabari Thompson         1-3    1-2    2-2    0-1--1    0    5    1    0    0    0    8
20 Ryan Arndt              2-5    2-4    0-0    1-3--4    3    6    1    4    0    0    19
*24 Landen Beard           6-13   3-5    3-4    2-1--3    4    18   2    5    0    5    28
*30 John Simonsen          2-9    1-3    4-4    1-3--4    4    9    0    2    0    1    26
40 Mike Robison            1-4    0-0    0-0    0-4--4    4    2    4    2    0    0    18
50 Jim Miller              1-4    0-0    2-5    3-3--6    1    4    0    1    0    1    17
54 Kris Anderson           3-4    0-0    2-5    1-2--3    5    8    0    1    0    0    12
*55 Tyler Gehrking         4-7    0-0    2-2    3-3--6    5    10   1    1    3    0    15
Team                                            1-1--2                   0
Totals                     27-68 11-23  22-29  16-26--42  33   87   19   21   3    9    200:00
Deadball Rebounds: 1
Field-goal shooting: First half--9-32 (28.1%), Second half--18-36 (50.0%), Total--27-68 (39.7%)
Three-point shooting: First half--5-15 (33.3%), Second half--6-8 (75.0%), Total--11-23 (47.8%)
Free-throw shooting: First half--12-15 (80.0%), Second half--10-14 (71.4%), Total--22-29 (75.9%)