BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS -- Jon Cassens (SR, Prior Lake, Minn.) scored a team-high 23 points with six rebounds and eight assists, leading Augsburg College in an 85-73 victory over visiting Bethel University in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball game on Wednesday evening at Si Melby Hall.

Augsburg (10-3 overall, 5-3 MIAC) had four starters score in double figures, aided by 15 points from David Olson (SR, Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS), and 11 points each from Ben Flavin (SO, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North HS) and Cory Polta (SO, Spring Lake Park, Minn.). Polta also had three blocked shots and five rebounds. Andy Grzesiak-Grimm (SO, Wyoming, Minn./St. Francis HS) had nine points and seven rebounds.

Bethel (5-8 overall, 1-7 MIAC) was paced by Daniel Baah (SO, Farmington, Minn./Lakeville North HS), who scored a game-high 28 points -- 23 coming in the second half and 10 in the final 2:16, as the Royals cut a 17-point lead to single-digits. Nate Robertson (SR, Forest Lake, Minn.) had a double-double, with 23 points and 14 rebounds, Greg Meyer (FY, Brooklyn Center, Minn./Minnehaha Academy HS) scored 10 points, and Rob Lang (SR, Johnston, Iowa) had nine points, five assists and three steals.

A 10-2 run over a four-minute span, with Polta scoring four points, gave the Auggies their first double-digit lead, 21-11 halfway through the first half. The Auggies extended the lead to as many as 15 points in the first half before leading 37-25 at halftime. Cassens had eight points and Polta had seven points and five rebounds in the first half.

The Royals cut the lead to eight points early in the second half, but Augsburg used a 17-4 run -- with Cassens and Matthew Quammen (JR, Victoria, Minn./Holy Family HS) scoring six points apiece in the stretch -- to take its biggest lead of the game, 63-42 with 10:50 remaining. The Augsburg advantage was not cut below eight points the rest of the way.

As a team, Augsburg connected on 53.8 percent (28-of-52) from the field, including 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from three-point range, while Bethel hit 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the field, 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from three-point range. The Royals hit a perfect 16-of-16 from the free-throw line in the game. Augsburg outrebounded Bethel by a 37-29 margin.

Augsburg returns to MIAC play on Saturday (1/16), hosting Carleton at 3 p.m. at Si Melby Hall. Bethel hosts Gustavus on Saturday, also at 3 p.m.