Men's Basketball 2/7/09 -- Augsburg 66, Macalester 52
ST. PAUL, Minn. (2/7/09) -- Jon Cassens (JR, Prior Lake, Minn.) became the 16th player in Augsburg College men's basketball history to reach the 1,000-point career scoring plateau, scoring 11 points as his Auggies claimed a 66-52 win over Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Macalester College on Saturday afternoon at Macalester's Leonard Center.
Playing in his 71st career game (all starts), Cassens reached the 1,000-point milestone on a free throw with 2:29 remaining in the first half. Cassens now has 1,002 career points, a 14.1 points-per-game average.
With the victory, Augsburg (13-8 overall, 11-5 MIAC) clinched a spot in the six-team MIAC postseason playoffs for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
Nate Alm (SR, Eden Prairie, Minn.) led Augsburg with 14 points and 14 rebounds, posting his third consecutive double-double and eighth overall of the season. Also scoring in double figures for the Auggies was Ben Flavin (FY, Minn./Lakeville North HS), who scored 11 points with four assists and three rebounds.
Macalester (0-22 overall, 0-17 MIAC) was led by Paul Richie (JR, Grand Rapids, Minn.), who scored 12 points,adding two rebounds and one blocked shot. Also scoring in double figures for the Scots was Jerry Kraus (JR, Bucharest Romania/Chaparral (Colo.) HS) and David Lewin (SR, Wayland, Mass.), who each chipped in 11.
The Auggies scored the opening basket off a jumper by Cassens 50 seconds into the action. Both teams played evenly matched basketball over the next few minutes until the Scots took a 17-16 lead at the 7:27 mark. The Auggies put together an impressive run to end the half, outscoring Macalester 15-3 over the final seven minutes, taking a 31-20 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
Augsburg continued its strong play in the second half, never letting the Scots get closer than 11. For the game, Augsburg shot 38.0 percent (27-of-71) from the floor, while Macalester shot 34.5 percent (20-of-58). The Auggies claimed a 45-41 advantage on the boards and forced 16 Mac turnovers while only committing seven.
Augsburg returns to action on Wednesday (2/11) at 7:30 p.m., when it travels to Collegeville to take on MIAC rival St. John's.
