COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- The Augsburg University men's basketball had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but couldn't get the last shot to fall, as the Auggies dropped an 82-79 heartbreaker to Saint John's University in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoff championship game on Saturday night. Augsburg now hopes to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III national tournament on Monday.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: St. John's 82, Augsburg 79 
LOCATION: Sexton Arena, Collegeville, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 19-9 overall, St. John's 23-4 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED
• After Booker Coplin (JR, Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee HS) hit the game-winner at the buzzer in the MIAC quarterfinal game over St. Olaf, and Matt Carik (SO, Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS) hit the game-winning three-pointer in the Auggies' win over at St. Thomas in the MIAC semifinal with 20 seconds to play, it appeared that the script in the MIAC championship game was going to follow a similar storyline. The Johnnies led 82-78 with eight seconds to play. Coplin brought the ball up the court and was fouled with four seconds remaining. He made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second to pull the score within three. The loose ball went out of bounds off of Saint John's, and Augsburg was able to set up an out-of-bounds play. Augsburg got a look at a potential game-tying three-pointer with one second to go, but it didn't fall, as the Auggies' hopes to repeat as MIAC playoff champions came up just short.
• For the second time in a week, Coplin set a new career-high scoring mark, putting up 46 points. He was 17-of-30 from the field and 7-of-16 from three-point range. Playing all 40 minutes, he also led Augsburg with 11 rebounds, marking his 12th double-double of the season. 
• Carik dished out a team-best five assists, to go along with 11 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
• Also scoring in double figures for Augsburg was Kevin McKiernan (SR, Savage, Minn./Prior Lake HS), who finished with 10 points, shooting 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-5 from three point range. Henry Mulligan (JR, Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City HS) added eight points and two rebounds for the Auggies.
• For the game, Augsburg shot 30-of-57 (52.6 percent) from the floor, while Saint John's connected on 28-of-64 (43.8 percent). The Johnnies posted a 41-27 advantage on the boards and were 19-of-24 from the free throw line, while Augsburg was only 5-of-8.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• For the second straight season, Augsburg advanced to the MIAC playoff championship game from the No. 4 seed. The Auggies have qualified for the MIAC postseason playoffs nine times under the direction of head coach Aaron Griess.
• The Auggies will learn if they receive one of the 20 "Pool C" at-large bids to the 64-team NCAA Division III national tournament on Monday afternoon at 11:30 a.m. Central time on an NCAA.com webcast. 

FOR THE FOES
• St. John's, ranked No. 10 in the latest D3hoops.com Division III national poll, finished with four players in double figures, led by a 22-point, 12-rebound double-double by Lucas Walford.
• Jubie Alade added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Johnnies who earn the MIAC automatic bid to the NCAA national tournament.