Men's Basketball 12/30/06 -- Northwestern-Roseville 91, Augsburg 77

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (12/30/06) -- Steve Discher (So., Andover, Minn.) led all players with 21 points, connecting on four 3-pointers while adding six assists, as Northwestern College-Roseville held off host Augsburg College 91-77 in a nonconference men's basketball game on Saturday afternoon at Si Melby Hall.

Mike Anderstrom (Jr., Woodbury, Minn./New Life HS) had 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots and two steals, while Daniel Hanson (Jr., Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha HS) had a double-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and three steals for Northwestern, now 9-1 overall.

Augsburg, now 5-3 overall, was paced by Jon Cassens (Fr., Prior Lake, Minn.), who had 18 points, including four 3-pointers, while adding five assists. Mitch Dice (Jr., Savage, Minn./Bloomington Lutheran HS) scored 16 points, also hitting four 3-pointers, while adding six rebounds and two blocked shots.

An early 16-2 run gave Northwestern a double-digit lead, 18-7 with 13:48 left in the first half. Augsburg then trimmed the lead to four points on a 12-5 run, but the Eagles pulled away again to lead by 10 points at halftime, 32-42.

Northwestern led by 13 points early in the second half, but Augsburg slowly came back and eventually took the lead at 70-69 with 6:44 left to play. But Northwestern outscored the Auggies by a 22-7 margin after that to claim the double-digit victory.

Northwestern connected on 13 three-pointers (61.9 percent, 13-of-21) and 51.5 percent (34-of-66) from the field in the contest. Northwestern also outrebounded Augsburg by a 41-33 margin, claiming 15 offensive rebounds and converting them into 17 second-chance points.

Stephen Hanson (Fr., Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha HS) had 13 points, hitting three 3-pointers, and Dave Zuleger (Jr., Wausau, Wis./Wausau West HS) had 12 points and seven assists for the Eagles.

Augsburg hit 41.3 percent (26-of-63) from the field and 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from three-point range. The Auggies hit 16-of-17 (94.1 percent) from the free-throw line.

Zach Krumwiede (Fr., Trimont, Minn./Martin County West HS) had 14 points, five assists and two blocked shots for the Auggies, while Dan Graf (Sr., Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) had 13 points and six rebounds. Femi Solaja (Jr., Cottage Grove, Minn./St. Paul Harding HS) had eight points with six rebounds.

Augsburg returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Wednesday (1/3) at 5:45 p.m. with a home contest against Hamline at Si Melby Hall. Northwestern has a nonconference game at Gordon (Mass.) on Tuesday (1/2) at 7 p.m.