Men's Basketball 1/6/03 -- Bethel 77, Augsburg 71 

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (1/6/03) -- John Jacobs (Jr., Wells, Minn./United South Central HS) scored 17 points and pulled down nine rebounds, and Travis Jones (So., Willmar, Minn.) had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, as Bethel College claimed a 77-71 win over host Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game Monday night at Si Melby Hall.

Five players scored in double figures for the Royals, who won their sixth game in their last seven starts to improve to 7-4 overall and 5-1 in MIAC play.

Despite a second-straight career-high scoring performance from Marcus Gholson (Jr., Gary, Ind./William A. Wirt HS), who led all scorers with 26 points and nine rebounds, Augsburg dropped its seventh game in a row and eighth in its last nine to fall to 3-8 overall and 0-6 in MIAC play.

The game was a close one throughout, with three ties and 11 lead changes. Neither team led by more than six points in the first half, and Augsburg rallied back from deficits of 13 and 14 points in the second half to keep the margin in single-digits most of the second half.

The key stretch came midway through the second stanza, when Bethel went on a 12-1 run to take a 58-46 lead with 7:40 left to play. Drew Brodin (Sr., Vadnais Heights, Minn./Mounds View HS) had two 3-pointers and Jones had four points in the game-deciding run.

Augsburg cut the lead to four points in the final 10 seconds, but Jacobs had four points down the stretch, including a game-clinching dunk with one second left.

Neither team hit well from the field, as Augsburg hit just 40.3 percent from the field (27-of-67), while Bethel hit 41.3 percent (26-of-63). But Bethel connected on 10 3-pointers -- four each from Brodin and Joe Madson (Sr., Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley HS) -- compared to six for the Auggies. Brodin and Madson had 12 points each, with Brodin adding six rebounds.

Augsburg held the conference's leading scorer, Bethel's Andy Gilbert (Sr., Plymouth, Minn./Armstrong HS) to just 12 points -- he averaged 20.9 points per game entering Monday's play -- though he added six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

In addition to Gholson's 26 points, Jay Howard * (Sr., Burnsville, Minn.) had 16 points and six rebounds, and Casey Zilka (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) had 14 points and five rebounds. Yarzue Slowon (So., Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) had seven points, five assists and four steals.

Both teams return to MIAC play on Wednesday (1/8) at 7:30 p.m., Augsburg playing at Hamline and Bethel hosting St. Olaf.