BOXSCORE
PHOTO GALLERY
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Augsburg College men's basketball team clinched a home playoff game with a 76-72 win over St. Mary's University in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Wednesday night at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall. With the win, Augsburg has guaranteed either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the MIAC postseason tournament.
David Olson (SR, Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS) led Augsburg (18-7 overall, 13-7 MIAC) with 17 points and six rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor.
Cory Polta (SO, Spring Lake Park, Minn.) posted his third consecutive double digit scoring performance, posting 14 points and adding five rebounds, while
Matthew Quammen (JR, Victoria, Minn./Holy Family HS) had a great shooting night for the Auggies, finishing with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and 4-of-4 shooting from the free throw line.
St. Mary's (9-16 overall, 7-13 MIAC) was led b Will Wright, who finished with a game-high 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting.
Despite significantly outshooting the Cardinals (56.3 percent-to-38.1 percent), the Auggies found themselves in a tight contest for the majority of the night.
Augsburg held a 30-28 lead at the half and neither team was able to break away during the first 13 minutes of the second. A key 11-2 run gave Augsburg its largest lead of the night at 67-56 with 3:38 left to play. St. Mary's was forced to foul down the stretch and was able to get within four on three separate occasions but Augsburg was able to hit some key free throws when it mattered and hung on for a 76-72 win.
For the game, Augsburg shot 56.3 percent (27-of-48), while holding St. Mary's to 38.1 percent (24-of-63). St. Mary's claimed a 37-31 advantage on the boards but the Augsburg bench outscored the Cardinal reserves 28-21.
When Augsburg will return to action will depend on which seed they receive in the MIAC tournament. If Augsburg is the No. 2 seed, the will get a bye in the first round and will host a home semifnal game on Thursday, Feb. 25. If Augsburg is the No. 3 seed, the will host a home quarterfinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 23.
