MINNEAPOLIS -- The Augsburg University men's basketball team nearly rallied from a 14-point deficit, but couldn't quite pull it off as the Auggies fell 86-80 to St. Olaf College in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon at Si Melby Hall.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE:Â St. Olaf 86, Augsburg 80
LOCATION:Â Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn.
RECORDS:Â Augsburg 17-8 overall (13-7 MIAC), St. Olaf 13-12 overall (12-8 MIAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Augsburg trailed 81-67 with 2:33 to play before the Auggies went on a crazy 13-2 run, highlighted by three 3-pointers and a dunk byÂ
Booker Coplin (JR, Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee HS). The run cut the St. Olaf lead to 83-80 with 37 seconds remaining. Augsburg was forced to foul and St. Olaf made 3-for-4 free throws to seal with win and halt the Augsburg comeback.Â
• Coplin scored a career-high 43 points, shooting 17-of-28 from the field. He was 9-of-14 from three-point range, which ties the school record for made three pointers in a single game. He also added seven rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
•Â
Henry Mulligan (JR, Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City HS) andÂ
Kevin McKiernan (SR, Savage, Minn./Prior Lake HS) added nine points apiece, while McKiernan pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.Â
•
Isaiah Robinson (JR, Apple Valley, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) provided a nice spark for the Auggies, shooting 3-for-4 from the field, while dishing out a team-best four assists.
• Augsburg shot an impressive 57.4 percent (31-of-54) from the floor, while St. Olaf connected on 50.8 percent (31-of-61) of its shot attempts. The Auggies posted a 31-29 advantage on the boards but struggled from the free throw line, only able to hit 4-of-11, while the Oles converted 12-of-18 from the charity stripe.
FOR THE FOES
• Austin Korba scored 26 points to lead the St. Olaf offense.
• Nate Albers added 15 points for the Oles.
UP NEXT
• Augsburg and St. Olaf will have a rematch on Tuesday, Feb. 19, when the No. 4-seed Auggies will host the No. 5-seed Oles at 7 p.m. in a MIAC quarterfinal contest.
