BOXSCORE

NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- With five players scoring in double-figures, the Augsburg College men's basketball team dominated from start to finish in a 77-64 victory over host St. Olaf College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest on Saturday afternoon at the Skoglund Center.

Ben Flavin (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North HS) and Jon Cassens (SR, Prior Lake, Minn.) led the way for Augsburg (7-2 overall, 2-2 MIAC) with 14 points apiece, with Flavin adding six assists and three rebounds in Augsburg's third straight victory. Flavin went 5-for-6 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.

Cory Polta (SO, Spring Lake Park, Minn.) scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting with a team-high nine rebounds and a blocked shot for the Auggies, while Andy Grzesiak-Grimm (SO, Wyoming, Minn./St. Francis HS) also had 12 points with three rebounds and a block. David Olson (SR, Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS) scored 10 points with four rebounds. Nine of the 11 Auggies who saw game action scored in the contest. Brett Sorenson (SO, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) had seven rebounds to go along with six points.

For St. Olaf (4-5 overall, 2-2 MIAC), Mark Torell had 17 points with three assists, Nate Krosschell had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Stu Neville had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.

The Auggies took a 9-2 lead in the first 2:57 of play, keying on three-pointers by Flavin and Olson, and a three-point play by Cassens. The Auggies expanded the lead to double-digits at 17-5 with 15:09 left in the half, and built the advantage to as many as 23 points before taking a 42-22 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

Polta had eight points and seven rebounds in the first half for the Auggies, while Grzesiak-Grimm also had eight points in the opening stanza. Augsburg connected on 53.6 percent shooting (15-of-28) from the field in the first half, en route to a 48.1 percent (26-of-54) shooting effort in the game. Augsburg also hit nine 3-pointers in the game.

The Auggies' held their lead throughout the game, extending it to as many as 23 points in the second half. St. Olaf cut the lead below double-digits just twice in the second half, at nine points in the closing minutes.

Despite being outrebounded by a 41-37 margin, the Auggie defense was able to hold St. Olaf to just 34.7 percent (25-of-72) shooting from the field in the game, incluiding just 21.6 percent (8-of-37) in the first half.

Augsburg returns to MIAC play on Monday (1/4) at 7:45 p.m., hosting Concordia-Moorhead at Si Melby Hall.