Men's Basketball 1/21/09 -- Augsburg 83, Hamline 67

ST. PAUL, Minn. (1/21/09) -- Nate Alm (SR, Eden Prairie, Minn.) led all players with 24 points, as Augsburg College claimed its third consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory with an 83-67 win over host Hamline University at Hutton Arena on Wednesday night. With the win, the Auggies (10-6 overall, 8-3 MIAC) move into second place in the MIAC standings.

Augsburg was led by Alm's 24-point performance, on 6-for-12 shooting and a perfect 12-for-12 effort from the free-throw line. Others finishing in double figures were Andy Grzesiak-Grimm (FY, Wyoming, Minn./St. Francis HS) and Jon Cassens (JR, Prior Lake, Minn.) who both finished with 12 points. Ben Flavin (FY, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North HS) led the Auggies with five assists and added nine points.

Hamline (3-12 overall, 2-9 MIAC) was led by the duo of Tony Thrasher (SR, Hustisford, Wis. /Hustisford HS) and Max Van Ordstrand (FY, Burnsville, Minn.). Thrasher finished with 18 points, three rebounds and two steals. Van Ordstrand shot 3-for-6 from behind the three-point arc to finish with 11 points and three assists.

The Auggies scored the first five points of the game, but the Pipers rallied back to take what would prove to be their only lead of the night at 6-5. The two teams traded baskets until the Auggies put together a 12-1 run, taking a 27-14 lead with just over four minutes left in the half. Both teams converted from the free-throw line in the final minutes of the half and Augsburg held a 34-24 lead at the intermission.

In the second half, the Pipers cut the lead to five on two separate occasions, but the Auggies used solid free-throw shooting to build their lead to a 20-point advantage. Augsburg converted on 32-of-35 free throw attempts and outrebounded the Pipers 36-28. The Auggies shot 46.8 percent (22-of-47) for the game and held Hamline to 40.0 percent (24-of-60).

Augsburg returns to action on Wednesday (1/28) at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts the University of St. Thomas in a key MIAC matchup at Si Melby Hall.