Men's Basketball 1/28/02 -- Macalester 83, Augsburg 68 

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (1/28/02) -- Patrick Russell (Jr., Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS) scored 34 points and pulled down eight rebounds, hitting eight 3-pointers, and Ben Van Thorre (So., Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn HS) scored 21 points and had nine rebounds, as Macalester College rallied from an early nine-point deficit to claim a 83-68 victory over host Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball game Monday night at Si Melby Hall.

Russell scored 22 points in the first half as the Scots improved to 12-7 overall and 10-4 in MIAC play. Augsburg broke a two-game winning streak in falling to 9-10 overall and 5-9 in MIAC play.

Augsburg jumped out to a 17-8 lead, its biggest of the game, then led 26-18 with 8:02 left. But the Scots dominated the rest of the way, outscoring Augsburg 26-10 to close the first half with a 42-36 lead.

An 11-1 run in the first 3:42 of the second half, with Van Thorre scoring six points, gave the Scots a 53-37 lead. Macalester led by as many as 18 points down the stretch.

Both teams shot well in the first half, each hitting over 40 percent from the field. But Macalester shined in the second half, hitting 54.8 percent (17-of-31) of its field goals and 66.7 percent (6-of-9) of its three-pointers, compared to 37.9 percent (11-of-29) from the field and 30.0 percent (3-of-10) from three-point range for the Auggies.

As a team, Macalester hit 14 three-pointers in the game, including eight from Russell, three from Erik Jackson (Fr., Evergreen, Colo.) and two from Ryan Gerry (Sr., Cave Creek, Ariz./Paradise HS). Jackson had nine points and five assists, and Gerry had 10 points and five asssits. Russell and Van Thorre added four assists apiece.

Nick Peters (Jr., St. Peter, Minn./Nicollet HS) led the Auggies with 16 points, while Travis Kalis (So., Elysian, Minn./Waterville-Elysian-Morristown HS) had 14 points. Michael Leach (Fr., Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) scored 13 points and Adam Kotewa (Jr., Mankato, Minn./West HS), had 10 points and five assists. Nick Heisick (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center HS) led the Auggies with seven rebounds.

Both teams return to MIAC play on Wednesday (1/30) at 7:30 p.m., with Augsburg playing at St. Mary's and Macalester hosting St. Olaf.