Men's Basketball 2/18/06 -- Augsburg 59, Macalester 58

BOXSCORE

ST. PAUL, Minn. (2/18/06) -- Justin Kozlowski (So., Wausau, Wis./Wausau Newman HS) scored 14 of his team-leading 16 points in the second half, as Augsburg College broke a 14-game losing streak to end the season with a victory, a 59-58 win over Macalester College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball game on Saturday afternoon at Macalester Gymnasium.

Kevin Keto (Jr., Forest Lake, Minn.) scored 11 points for the Auggies, who finished the season 4-21 overall, 3-17 in MIAC play. Augsburg won all four of its games this season on the road, and claimed its first victory since a 62-59 triumph at St. Thomas on Jan. 2.

Macalester, which finished 7-18 overall, 6-14 in MIAC play, was led by two players with double-doubles -- Tom Conboy (So., Chanhassen, Minn./Minnetonka HS) with 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Brendan Bosman (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest HS) with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Augsburg pulled out to a nine-point lead in the first half, before Macalester rallied to take a one-point lead late in the period. Augsburg rallied to lead 32-30 at halftime.

A 16-2 run in the opening minutes of the second half gave Augsburg its biggest lead of the game, 48-34 with 11:44 left. Koslowski scored 11 consecutive points in the run, on three 3-pointers and a layup. Augsburg matched the 14-point advantage later, with a 52-38 lead with 8:40 left.

But Macalester used a 17-5 run to cut the lead to just two points, 57-55, with 42 seconds left in regulation. Augsburg's Keto made two free-throws with 32 seconds left to put the Auggies ahead by four, but Conboy hit a field goal with 22 seconds left to trim the lead to two points again.

After a foul, Augsburg missed a bonus free-throw, which Macalester's Bosman rebounded with 20 seconds left. After a foul with three seconds left, the Scots went 1-for-2 at the line. After a Scots' offensive rebound on the miss, a potential game-winning shot was blocked by Keto at the buzzer to preserve the Auggie win.

Darren Nelson (So., Richfield, Minn.) scored nine points off the bench for Augsburg, going 4-for-5 from the field. Charlie Scott (Jr., Ely, Minn.) scored eight points, and Dan Graf (Jr., Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) scored seven points with 10 rebounds

Brian Ranwick (So., Minnetonka, Minn.) and Jesse Hollander (Jr., Kathmandu, Nepal/Bend (Ore.) HS) had six points apiece for Macalester, with Hollander adding seven rebounds.

Augsburg shot 42.3 percent (22-of-52) from the field, while Macalester shot 36.2 percent (21-of-58). Macalester outrebounded Augsburg by a 44-34 margin, but the Scots committed 19 rebounds, which Augsburg converted into 25 points. Meanwhile, Macalester scored just four points off of 15 Augsburg turnovers.