MINNEAPOLIS -- The Augsburg University men's basketball team suffered a hard-fought 89-81 loss to the No. 5-ranked University of St. Thomas in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Wednesday evening at Si Melby Hall.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: St. Thomas 89, Augsburg 81
LOCATION:Â Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn.
RECORDS:Â Augsburg 5-2 overall (3-1 MIAC), St. Thomas 8-1 overall (4-0 MIAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
• St. Thomas led 64-46 midway through the second half, but Augsburg continued to battle and cut the Tommie advantage to single digits with 1:45 to play. The Auggies cut the lead to eight on multiple occasions down the stretch, but couldn't get any closer as the Tommies held off the Augsburg rally.
• The Augsburg offense was led by
Booker Coplin (SR, Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee HS), who finished with a game-high 24 points, while adding seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Coplin shot 8-for-17 from the field and added four assists.
•
Matt Carik (JR, Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS) and
Henry Mulligan (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City HS) added 14 points apiece for the Auggies. Carik was 4-for-8 from the field and added a team-best five assists, while Mulligan was 3-for-7 from beyond the arc and added a pair of steals.
• Coming off the bench,
Joe Palmer (FY, Faribault, Minn./Faribault HS) played a season-high 20 minutes, while adding an Augsburg career-best eight rebounds and chipping in eight points.
• Augsburg shot 46.7 percent from the field (28-of-60), while St. Thomas connected on 43.3 percent (26-of-60) of its shot attempts. The Tommies posted a 39-31 advantage on the boards, while the Auggies claimed a 40-26 advantage in points in the paint.
FOR THE FOES
• The St. Thomas offense was led by Elijah Hannah, who finishing with 21 points, including an 11-of-14 effort from the free-throw line.
• Anders Nelson added 18 points for the Tommies.
UP NEXT
• Augsburg is off for finals break and will return to action on Friday, Dec. 20, when the Auggies travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico to take on Shenandoah University (Va.).
• St. Thomas is off until after the holidays, when the Auggies travel to Moorhead, Minn. to take on Concordia College on Jan. 4.
