Men's Basketball 1/10/09 -- Augsburg 81, Macalester 60
MINNEAPOLIS (1/10/09) -- Augsburg College's David Olson (SR, Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS) led all scorers with a season-high 23 points, including five baskets from beyond the three-point arc, as the Auggies claimed their third consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball victory by defeating Macalester College 81-60 on Saturday afternoon at Si Melby Hall.
Augsburg (7-5 overall, 5-2 MIAC) was led by Olson, who scored his game-high 23 points, shooting 8-for-12 from the floor, 5-for-7 from the three-point line and a perfect 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. Also scoring in double figures for the Auggies was Andy Grzesiak-Grimm (FY, Wyoming, Minn./St. Francis HS) and Jon Cassens (JR, Prior Lake, Minn.). Grzesiak-Grimm posted his third consecutive double-digit scoring performance, recording 20 points, five rebounds and three steals. Cassens added 10 points and a game-high five assists.
Macalester (0-13 overall, 0-8 MIAC) was led by the duo of Colin Keeley (SO, Kildeer, Ill./Stevenson HS) and Kyle Hamblett (SO, Paris, France/American School of Paris). Keeley scored 20 points and eight rebounds, while Hamblett posted 18 points and three assists.
After Macalester hit the opening basket, the Auggies went on an 8-0 run, taking a six-point lead four minutes into the action. Augsburg took its largest lead of the first half, a 10-point advantage, off a layup by Anthony Humphrey (SO, Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) with 10 minutes remaining. The Scots countered with a 9-0 run and tied things up 26-26 at the 4:07 mark. Olson hit a three-pointer with just over a minute remaining to give the Auggies a six-point lead at the intermission.
The six-point lead proved to be as close as the Scots would get, as Augsburg outscored Macalester 25-13 over the first 10 minutes of the half, building as large as a 20-point advantage. Olson came alive for the Auggies in the second half, scoring 18 of his 23 points, connecting on 4-of-6 from behind the three-point arc. The Auggies cruised the final 10 minutes and claimed their third consecutive win.
For the game, Augsburg shot 44.3 percent (27-for-61), while Macalester shot 43.6 percent (24-of-55) from the floor. The difference in the game came down rebounding and second-chance points. The Auggies outrebounded the Scots 42-26 and outscored them 19-4 in second-chance points.
Augsburg returns to action on Wednesday (1/14) at 7:30 p.m., when it travels to Northfield to take on Carleton College in an MIAC matchup.
