Men's Basketball 1/7/08 -- Augsburg 72, Macalester 52

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (1/7/08) -- Femi Solaja (SR, Cottage Grove, Minn./St. Paul Harding HS) claimed his fourth double-double of the season and eighth in his last 15 games in an Augsburg College uniform, scoring 20 points and pulling down 19 rebounds, as his Auggies dominated in a 72-52 victory over host Macalester College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball contest on Monday evening at the College of St. Catherine's Butler Center.

Solaja had a double-double in the first half, with 14 points and 13 rebounds, as Augsburg built a 10-point halftime lead at 30-20, an advantage it would build to as many as 25 points in the second half. Solaja also had three blocked shots in the game.

After starting the season 0-6, Augsburg has won three of its last four games to stand at 3-7 overall, 1-4 in MIAC play. Macalester drops to 5-5 overall, 3-2 in MIAC play.

Jon Cassens (SO, Prior Lake, Minn.) scored 18 points for Augsburg, while Mitch Dice (SR, Savage, Minn./Bloomington Lutheran HS) hit three 3-pointers and scored 13 points with five rebounds. Nate Alm (JR, Eden Prairie, Minn.) scored seven points with six rebounds, and Carlius Hodges (FY, Minneapolis, Minn./North HS), making his first start for Augsburg, scored six points with seven rebounds. 

Tom Conboy scored 23 points with seven rebounds and two steals for Macalester, while Brian Ranwick had 14 points with two steals. Abe Woldeslassie scored six points with five assists.

Save for two ties in the first five minutes, Augsburg led from start to finish in the game. A 7-0 run over a 2:10 span gave the Auggies their first double-digit lead of the game, 26-16 with 3:25 left in the first half. The Auggies did not let the lead dip under double-digits during the entire second half, though the Scots cut the lead to 11 points late in the game.

Augsburg shot 41.7 percent (25-of-60) and took advantage of their opportunities at the free-throw line, connecting on 85 percent (17-of-20). Meanwhile, Macalester hit 34.4 percent (21-of-60) from the field and had just five free throws, hitting three. Augsburg also dominated on the glass, outrebounding Macalester by a 50-26 margin. Augsburg also had 21 offensive rebounds, which it converted into 21 second-chance points.

Both teams return to MIAC play on Wednesday (1/9) at 7:30 p.m., as Augsburg hosts St. Thomas and Macalester plays at St. John's.