MINNEAPOLIS -- Booker Coplin (JR, Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee HS) led all players with a game-high 37 points, but it wasn't enough to top the hot-shooting hosts, as the Augsburg University men's basketball team fell 82-71 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Monday night at Saint John's University. Despite the loss, Augsburg was able to clinch one of the six spots in the MIAC postseason playoffs, marking the ninth appearance in the past 11 years under the direction of head coach Aaron Griess.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Saint John's 82, Augsburg 71
LOCATION: Sexton Arena, Collegeville, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 15-6 overall (11-5 MIAC), Saint John's 17-4 overall (13-3 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Auggies led 20-13 at the 10:50 mark of the first-half, but Saint John's went on a 19-5 run to go up 32-25. The Johnnies took at 40-32 lead into the locker room at the intermission. Coplin scored seven straight points to start the second-half and pull within one, but that would be as close as the Auggies would get as Saint John's now has a two-game lead on the Auggies for second place in the MIAC standings.
• With tonight's performance, Coplin now has 1,015 points for his collegiate career, including stats from his 2016-17 season played at Wisconsin-River Falls. Coplin's 37-point performance was his sixth 30-plus point effort of the season and fourth in his last nine games. He has scored 20-plus points in 17-of-21 games this season and 22-of-50 games in his Augsburg career. Coplin has scored in double figures 41 times in his Augsburg career, and all 21 games this season. Coplin generated much of his offense against the Johnnies from the free-throw line, where he was 14-of-15. He also added a team-high six rebounds and two blocked shots.
• Matt Carik (SO, Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS) dished out a game-high eight assists, while adding nine points and three rebounds. Carik has now recorded six-plus assists in six of his last eight games and is ranked second in the MIAC in assists per-game (5.0).
• Kevin McKiernan (SR, Savage, Minn./Prior Lake HS), Mark Della Vedova (SR, Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) and Carter Duncan (JR, Chisago City, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS) added six points apiece for the Auggies.
• The Auggies shot 37.7 percent (20-of-53) from the floor, while Saint John's connected on 54.4 percent (31-of-57) of its shot attempts. The Johnnies posted a 37-26 advantage on the boards and a 38-22 advantage in points in the paint.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Augsburg has now qualified for the MIAC postseason playoffs in nine of the last 11 years and four straight seasons.
• Coplin continues to lead the MIAC in overall scoring at 26.1 points per-game, a full 7.1 points per-game ahead of the second-place scorer. He is also tied for the league lead in rebounding, averaging 9.1 rebounds per-game. He also leads the conference in steals with 53 and stands fourth in assists with 82.

FOR THE FOES
• Saint John's, ranked No. 17 in the latest D3hoops.com Division III national poll, finished with four players in double figures, led offensively by a 24-point effort from David Stokman.
• Lucas Walford added a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Johnnies.

UP NEXT
• Augsburg returns to action on Wednesday (2/6) at 7 p.m., hosting Gustavus Adolphus College.
• Saint John's also returns to action on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m., traveling to Moorhead, Minn. to take on Concordia College.