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MINNEAPOLIS -- Jon Cassens (SR, Prior Lake, Minn.) led Augsburg with 18 points and eight assists as the Auggies hung on for a 71-68 win over Macalester College in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall.

Augsburg (15-6 overall, 10-6 MIAC) was led by by the guard duo of Cassens and David Olson (SR, Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS). Cassens scored his 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor, while Olson scored 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Cory Polta (SO, Spring Lake Park, Minn./Spring Lake Park HS) and Andy Grzesiak-Grimm (SO, Wyoming, Minn./St. Francis HS) led the Auggies on the boards with nine and eight rebounds respectively.

Macalester (2-20 overall, 0-17 MIAC) was led by Pierce Peters, who finished with the only double-double of the afternoon, claiming 18 points and 10 rebounds, while chipping in four assists for the Scots.

Augsburg outscored Macalester 13-3 over the opening seven minutes of action and took their largest lead of the afternoon off a three-pointer by Matthew Quammen (JR, Victoria, Minn./Holy Family HS) at the 11:29 mark. Macalester cut the Augsburg lead to 23-22 with just under five and a half minutes to play. Augsburg was able to outscore Macalester 15-7 over the remainder of the half and took a 38-29 lead into the locker room at the intermission.

Augsburg couldn't pull away in the second half as Macalester was able to keep the score within four for the final five minutes of action. The Scots hit a three-pointer with 54 seconds remaining to bring the score to 69-68. A key offensive rebound by Grzesiak-Grimm with 21 seconds left allowed the Auggies to put Olson on the line, where he hit hit both free throws to put the Auggies up 71-68. Augsburg's Brett Sorenson (SO, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) claimed a steal with five seconds remaining to seal the win for the Auggies.

For the game, Augsburg shot 50.9 percent (27-of-53) from the floor, while Macalester converted on 43.5 percent (27-of-62) of its shots. The Scots claimed a narrow 36-34 advantage on the boards and were able to convert 21 points off 17 Augsburg turnovers.

Augsburg and Macalester both return to action on Wednesday (2/10) with Augsburg hosting St. John's and Macalester hosting Concordia. The Auggies currently sit tied for fourth in the conference with four conference games remaining.