Men's Basketball 1/2/08 -- Augsburg 74, Presentation (S.D.) 66
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ABERDEEN, S.D. (1/2/08) -- Nate Alm (JR, Eden Prairie, Minn.) claimed his second double-double in an Augsburg College uniform, scoring 13 points with a season-high 14 rebounds, along with three blocked shots and three steals, leading the Auggies to a 74-66 victory over host Presentation College (S.D.) in a nonconference men's basketball game Wednesday night at the Strode Center.
Justin Kozlowski * (SR, Wausau, Wis./Wausau Newman HS) and Mitch Dice (SR, Savage, Minn./Bloomington Lutheran HS) scored 12 points each for the Auggies (2-6 overall), who won their second straight game. Dice hit 4-of-5 from three-point range, while also pulling down six rebounds, and Kozlowksi had a team-best four assists. Femi Solaja (SR, Cottage Grove, Minn./St. Paul Harding HS) collected his fifth double-figure rebound effort of the campaign, with a season-high 16 rebounds to go along with seven points.
Presentation (1-9 overall) was led by Richie Ward (SO, Aberdeen, S.D./Central HS), who scored 20 points with 12 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. Lucas Bruns (JR, Hecla, S.D./Frederick-Hecla HS) came off the bench to score 13 points, while Michael Heim (SR, Chelsea, S.D./Cresbard HS) had 10 points and five rebounds.
Augsburg used a 14-2 run over a 3:46 span to take the lead for good, holding a 25-12 advantage with 8:01 left in the first half. Augsburg led 42-27 at halftime, and extended the lead to 20 points early in the second half. But Presentation chipped away at the advantage in the second stanza, using a 14-3 run to cut the lead to five points, 58-53, with 4:38 left.
A three-pointer by Jon Cassens (SO, Prior Lake, Minn.) with 4:17 left gave the Auggies an eight-point lead, and the Auggies made their final 13 points of the game at the free-throw line, going 13-of-14. Kozlowski went 9-of-10 at the line in the closing stretch.
Cassens scored nine points with three assists, two steals and four rebounds for Augsburg, while Darren Nelson * (SR, Richfield, Minn.) scored nine points with three rebounds. Augsburg outrebounded Presentation by a 54-36 margin, including 18 offensive rebounds which were converted into 23 second-chance points.
Augsburg returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday (1/5) at 3 p.m. with a game at Hamline. Presentation also returns to action on Saturday, with a 7 p.m. game at Minot State (N.D.).
