Men's Basketball 11/21/06 -- Augsburg 100, Crown 71 

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (11/21/06) -- Playing his first game in an Augsburg College uniform, center Femi Solaja (Jr., Cottage Grove, Minn./St. Paul Harding HS) went 9-for-10 from the field and scored 20 points, leading the Auggies to a season-opening 100-71 victory over visiting Crown College in a nonconference men's basketball game Tuesday night at Si Melby Hall.

Five Auggies scored in double figures, and 10 of the 11 Auggies who saw playing time scored in the contest, the first game of the season for both teams. The 100 points was the most for an Augsburg squad since a 103-56 win over North Central (Minn.) on Dec. 15, 2004, and broke a 12-game home losing streak that dated to Feb. 14, 2005.

Solaja, a transfer from Minnesota State Community and Technical College-Fergus Falls, pulled down six rebounds in addition to his 20 points, part of a dominating inside performance by the Auggies. Augsburg claimed 56 points in the paint in the contest, compared to just 24 for Crown.

Augsburg rallied from an early 12-point deficit to score the win. Crown hit its first 10 field goals in a row and built a 26-16 lead at the 10:24 mark of the first half, eventually connecting on 15 of its first 16 field-goal attempts.

Mitch Jones (Sr., McCloud, Calif.) scored 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the first half to lead the Storm. Jones led all scorers with 22 points in the game on 8-of-11 shooting, including three 3-pointers.

But after the early Storm run, a 24-10 run over the next six minutes gave Augsburg the lead for good, 38-36 with 4:38 left. After the 15-of-16 start, the Storm hit just one of its final eight field-goal attempts in the opening frame. Augsburg eventually led 49-41 at halftime and pulled away in the second half. Augsburg's 29-point margin of victory was its largest lead of the game.

The key to the Auggie comeback was its aggressive defense. Augsburg forced 28 Crown turnovers and converted 37 points off the Crown miscues, also generating 24 points on fast-break baskets. Augsburg committed just 11 turnovers in the contest. Augsburg had 23 steals in the game -- five apiece from Dan Graf (Sr., Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS), Jon Cassens (Fr., Prior Lake, Minn.) and Zach Krumwiede (Fr., Trimont, Minn./Martin County West HS).

Augsburg also had a strong shooting game from the field, connecting on 56.8 percent (42-of-74) of its field goals -- the best field-goal percentage for an Augsburg squad since a 58.8-percent shooting performance (30-of-51) in an 85-66 win over Concordia-Moorhead on Jan. 27, 2001.

Cassens ended up with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting (3-of-4 from three-point range), adding six assists and five steals. Graf had 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, adding six assists and five steals. Justin Kozlowski (Jr., Wausau, Wis./Wausau Newman HS) had 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including two 3-pointers. Krumwiede had 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting. David Olson (So., Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS) had nine points and two steals, and Chuck Scott * (Sr., Ely, Minn.) had nine assists, three steals and six points.

Keyed by its 10-of-10 start to the game, Crown finished the game shooting 60.0 percent (27-of-45) from the field, including 66.7 percent (16-of-24) in the first half. The Storm hit 11-of-19 from three-point range in the game.

Jones also had a game-high seven rebounds for the Storm, in addition to his 22 points and two blocked shots. Rocky Donatelle (Fr., Park Rapids, Minn.) had 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting (4-of-5 from three-point range), adding four assists. Chad Dellos (Jr., Basin, Wyo./Riverside HS) had 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting, and Kincade Kirkpatrick (Jr., Buffalo, Minn./Rivers Christian HS) went 3-for-6 from three-point range with 10 points and five assists.

Augsburg returns to action with a nonconference game against Presentation (S.D.) on Monday (11/27) at 7 p.m. at Si Melby Hall. Crown returns to action on Saturday (11/25) with a 3 p.m. nonconference game at St. Olaf.