ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Augsburg University men's basketball team handed the No. 5-ranked University of St. Thomas its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference loss of the season, snapping a 21-game UST win streak with an 88-86 triumph on Saturday afternoon at Schoenecker Arena.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 88, St. Thomas 86
LOCATION: Schoenecker Arena, St. Paul, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 17-6 overall (13-5 MIAC), St. Thomas 21-2 overall (17-1 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Auggies led 49-45 at the half, but found themselves trailing 84-77 with 3:53 remaining. Augsburg closed the game on an 11-2 run, which was highlighted by a Booker Coplin (JR, Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee HS) layup with six seconds remaining in which he drew the foul and converted the free throw to seal the win. The victory avenged a crazy 112-105, three-overtime loss to the Tommies at Si Melby Hall on Jan. 12.
• The Augsburg offense was led by Kevin McKiernan (SR, Savage, Minn./Prior Lake HS), who finished with a season-high 24 points, shooting 9-for-18 from the field, while adding five rebounds.
• Despite battling foul trouble, Coplin posted 21 points and eight rebounds, while shooting 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.
• Leading Augsburg on the boards was Matt Carik (SO, Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS), who pulled down nine rebounds, while adding 13 points and four assists.
• Also finishing in double figures for the Auggies was Martin Mitchell (JR, Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview HS) and Henry Mulligan (JR, Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City HS), who finished with 11 and 10 points respectively.
• For the game, Augsburg shot 47.8 percent (32-of-67) from the floor, while St. Thomas connected on 48.5 percent (33-of-68) of its shot attempts. Both teams had 38 rebounds, but the Auggies were able to finish 15-of-17 from the free-throw line, while the Tommies were just 11-of-17.

FOR THE FOES
• St. Thomas, ranked No. 5 in the latest D3hoops.com Division III national poll, was led by a 26-point, 11-rebound double-double from Connor Bair.
• Michael Hannon added 13 points for the Tommies.

UP NEXT
• Augsburg returns to action on Wednesday (2/13) at 7 p.m., traveling to St. Paul, Minn., to take on Macalester College.
• St. Thomas also returns to action on Wednesday traveling to Collegeville for a key matchup with the Johnnies.