Men's Basketball 1/8/07 -- St. Thomas 80, Augsburg 63

BOXSCORE

ST. PAUL, Minn. (1/8/07) -- The No. 5-ranked University of St. Thomas got 74 of its 80 points from its starting five and shot 70 percent from the field in the second half (19-of-27) to pull away for an 80-63 win over visiting Augsburg College in Monday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball game at UST's Schoenecker Arena.

Augsburg's David Olson (So., Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS) and Zach Krumwiede (Fr., Trimont, Minn./Martin County West HS) each had 13 points off the bench. Jon Cassens (Fr., Prior Lake, Minn.) and Femi Solaja (Jr., Cottage Grove, Minn./St. Paul Harding HS) each scored 11 points for the Auggies (6-5 overall, 3-3 MIAC), who had 10 of their 14 turnovers in the second-half.

Augsburg shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and 47 percent on the game, including 8-of-17 from three-point range.

The Tommies (11-1 overall, 7-0 MIAC) remained in a share of the MIAC lead with St. John's, a six-point road winner at Macalester. UST is 28-3 at home over the last three seasons, including 11 wins in a row vs. MIAC foes. The Toms led just 37-36 at halftime but used a 28-11 run to start the second half and take control.

UST had a 35-18 advantage in rebounds and shot 58 percent on the game. The Tommies are 32-1 over the last two seasons when they outshoot their foes from the field. Senior guard Bryan Schnettler had a game-high 20 points -- his eighth 20-point game of the season. He made 4-of-8 from 3-point range and is 17 treys shy of the conference career record of 250.

Junior forward Lonnie Robinson scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half. Senior forward Mike Keating had 15 points. Senior center Isaac Rosefelt had 12 points and 12 rebounds for his 34th career double-double.

Both teams return to MIAC play on Wednesday (1/10). Augsburg hosts St. John's at 7:30 p.m., while St. Thomas hosts Gustavus at 5:45 p.m.