MINNEAPOLIS -- The Augsburg College men's basketball team dropped an 80-64 contest to the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Schoenecker Arena.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: St. Thomas 80, Augsburg 64
LOCATION: Schoenecker Arena, St. Paul, Minn
RECORDS: Augsburg 7-9 overall (5-6 MIAC), St. Thomas 12-4 overall (8-3 MIAC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Tommies used a 13-2 run over a four-minute span in the first half to stretch their lead to double-digits. Augsburg cut the Tommie lead to four at the 7:06 mark of the first half, but another St. Thomas run gave the Tommies a 39-27 lead at intermission. The Auggies couldn't get closer than 10 in the second half, as the Tommies claimed the win to move into a three-way tie for the league lead.
• Richie Perea (SR, Colorado Springs, Colo./Wasson HS) led the Augsburg offense with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor, while adding a team-best five assists. Perea has scored in double figures in back-to-back games and has shot better than 50 percent from the floor in seven of his last eight games. Perea currently has a team-best 70 assists and ranks fourth in the MIAC in assists per-game (4.4 apg).
• Harry Sonie (JR, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) also scored in double figures for the Auggies, finishing with 12 points, including a 5-for-5 effort from the free-throw line. Sonie added two steals, a blocked shot and an assist.
• Martin Mitchell (FY, Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview HS) came off the bench to score a career-high 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 from three-point range.
• St. Thomas claimed a 43-27 advantage on the boards and a 23-7 advantage in second-chance points.
• For the game, Augsburg shot 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field, while St. Thomas connected on 44.1 percent (26-of-59) of its shot attempts. The Auggies hit 13-of-18 from the free-throw line, compared to 20-of-23 for the Tommies.

FOR THE FOES
• St. Thomas was led by Grant Shaeffer, who posted a game-high 16 points, while adding seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• On the boards, the Tommies were paced by Jordan Burich, who pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

UP NEXT
• The Auggies return to action on Wednesday (1/25) at 7 p.m., when they host rival Hamline University.
• St. Thomas also returns to action on Wednesday, when the Tommies travel to take on Macalester College.