Men's Basketball 2/11/09 -- St. John's 63, Augsburg 50
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (2/11/09) -- Augsburg College's David Olson (SR, Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS) scored a game-high 14 points, but the Auggie men's basketball team wasn't able to hang on as they dropped a 63-50 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup to St. John's University on Wednesday night at SJU's Sexton Arena.
Augsburg (13-9 overall, 11-6 MIAC) was led by the duo of Olson and Jon Cassens (JR, Prior Lake, Minn.). Olson added two rebounds, two assists and two steals to his game-high 14 points, while Cassens recorded 11 points and a team-high five assists. Nate Alm (SR, Eden Prairie, Minn.) lead Augsburg on the boards with seven rebounds.
St. John's (13-9 overall, 11-6 MIAC) was led by Aaron Burtzel (SO, Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori HS), who was the only player to finish with a double-double, recording 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, to go along with a game-high six assists. Also playing well for the Johnnies was Andy Burns (FY, Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka HS), who finished with 12 points, four assists and three rebounds.
Augsburg outscored St. John's 10-4 over the first 5:15 of play to take its largest lead of the game, a six-point advantage. Both teams traded leads over the middle of the first half, before the Johnnies put together a 12-0, taking a 10-point lead with five minutes left in the half. Augsburg hit the final seven points of the game to cut the St. John's lead to three as the teams headed to the locker room for the intermission.
The Auggies were able to tie things up at 33-33 off a three-pointer by Olson at the 17:33 mark. St. John's put together a 12-2 run to take a 52-39 advantage with just over seven minutes to play. The Auggies were able to cut the Johnnie lead to six with 2:46 left on the clock, but St. John's converted on key free throws down the stretch as they hung on for the victory.
For the game, Augsburg shot a season-low 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from the floor, while the Johnnies shot 44.0 percent (22-of-50). St. John's claimed a 36-31 advantage on the boards and capitalized on their free throw attempts, where they connected on 16-of-21, while the Auggies were only able to convert on 7-of-9.
Augsburg returns to action on Saturday (2/14), when it hosts Bethel for a men's and women's doubleheader. Women's action begins at 1 p.m. and the men tip off at 3 p.m. During Saturday's games, the Auggies will be hosting a breast cancer awareness event benefitting Susan G. Komen For the Cure and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's Pink Zone.
