Men's Basketball 2/23/08 -- Bethel 74, Augsburg 72
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ARDEN HILLS, Minn. (2/23/08) -- Tim Madson (JR, Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley HS) connected on a three-pointer with 0.8 seconds left in the game, sending Bethel University into the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball playoffs with a 74-72 victory over visiting Augsburg College on Saturday afternoon at Bethel's Robertson Center.
After the Royals grabbed an offensive rebound on a missed shot with under five seconds to play, Bethel's Madson connected a jumper over an Augsburg defender, as the Royals rallied from a three-point deficit in the final minute to gain the win. A halfcourt shot by the Auggies fell short at the buzzer.
Augsburg (12-13 overall, 10-10 MIAC) saw its hopes for earning the final spot in the six-team postseason playoffs fall one game short, but the Auggies closed the season strong. After starting the season 0-6, Augsburg won 12 of its final 19 games, including seven of its last nine, to finish the season with its second-straight double-digit win campaign and best record since finishing 12-13 in the 2000-01 season -- its last trip to the MIAC's postseason tournament.
Augsburg's Jon Cassens (SO, Prior Lake, Minn.) led all players with a career-high 29 points, hitting four 3-pointers and adding two assists and three rebounds. Femi Solaja (SR, Cottage Grove, Minn./St. Paul Harding HS) scored 13 points with seven rebounds and two steals, and Nate Alm (JR, Eden Prairie, Minn.) scored 11 points with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Justin Kozlowski * (SR, Wausau, Wis./Wausau Newman HS) hit two 3-pointers and scored eight points with two steals.
Madson paced Bethel (15-10 overall, 11-9 MIAC) with 21 points, with his game-winning three-pointer his lone long-range connection of the game. Mike Much (SO, Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park HS) scored 10 points with four assists and three steals, and Mike Moberg (JR, Plymouth, Minn./Maple Grove HS) scored nine points with game-highs of 12 rebounds and three blocked shots. Rob Lang (SO, Johnston, Iowa) also had nine points for the Royals.
Bethel will face Concordia-Moorhead in the opening round of the MIAC playoffs on Tuesday (2/26) at 7:30 p.m. in Moorhead, Minn.
Augsburg jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the first 7:53 of play, as Cassens hit three 3-pointers and Solaja scored five points, including a thunderous dunk converted into a three-point play in the opening minute. But Bethel slowly chipped away at the Auggie advantage, outscoring the Auggies 37-18 over the next 12:07 to take a 39-34 lead into the locker room.
There were nine lead changes and eight ties in the game -- four lead changes and three ties in the second half. An 11-2 run over a 4:30 span, with Alm scoring four points, gave Augsburg a 56-49 lead with 11:01 left, but Bethel scored the next 11 points to take a 60-56 lead with 6:51 left. Neither team held a lead of more than three points after that, as Augsburg grabbed its final lead of the game at 72-69 with 1:13 left. Much hit two free throws with 56 seconds left to cut the Auggie lead to 72-71, and after Augsburg was whistled for basket interference with 25 seconds left, the Royals set themselves up for the game-winning shot.
Bethel outrebounded Augsburg by a 37-23 margin, including 15 offensive rebounds which were converted into 14 second-chance points. Augsburg shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field, while Bethel shot 44.8 percent (26-of-58).
