BOXSCORE

WINONA, Minn. -- Brett Sorenson (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) scored a season-high 18 points to lead the Augsburg College men's basketball team to a 63-54 win over St. Mary's University in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest on Wednesday night at the SMU Field House.

With the win, Augsburg moves to 5-0 overall (1-0 MIAC), the first time the Auggies have rattled off five consecutive wins to start a season since 1980-81. With the loss, St. Mary's falls to 2-1 overall (0-1 MIAC).

Also having a good night for the Auggies was the duo of Cory Polta (JR, Spring Lake Park, Minn./Spring Lake Park HS) and Andy Grzesiak-Grimm (JR, Wyoming, Minn./St. Francis HS). Polta scored 12 points and recorded nine rebounds, while Gresiak-Grimm had nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Anthony Humphrey (JR, Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) came off the bench to give the Auggies a spark with nine points and a career-high five assists.

St. Mary's finished with four players in double-figures, led by Will Wright, who posted 18 points, six rebounds and four assists.

After trailing 31-25 at the half, Augsburg used a 7-2 run to open the second half, sparked by a pair of baskets from Polta and Grzesiak-Grimm. The Auggies took their first lead of the half off a three-pointer by Humphrey at the 10:14 mark and would build their lead to as many as 12 with just over one minute to play. The Auggies were able to convert on 6-of-8 from the free throw line in the final minute of the game to seal the victory for Augsburg.

For the game, Augsburg shot 38.9 percent (21-of-54), while St. Mary's converted on 40.7 percent (22-of-54) of its shots. The Cardinals claimed a narrow 36-35 advantage on the boards, while the Auggies won the turnover battle 11-5.

Augsburg and St. Mary's both return to action on Saturday (12/4) at 3 p.m., with Augsburg traveling to Northfield to take on Carleton and St. Mary's traveling to St. Paul to take on Macalester.