NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Sparked by the fifth double-double of the season from Joe Palmer (JR, Faribault, Minn./Faribault HS) the Augsburg University men's basketball team defeated St. Olaf 87-72 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Action and moved to 6-0 in conference play on Saturday at the Skoglund Center.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg def. St. Olaf 87-72
LOCATION: Skoglund Center, Northfield, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 7-1 overall (6-0 MIAC), St. Olaf 5-3 overall (2-2 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Auggies shot the ball from beyond the arc early and often in the game, hitting nine three pointers on 16 attempts in the first half alone. The Auggies used the flurry of threes to pull ahead early, carrying a 51-30 lead at the half.
• St. Olaf outscored Augsburg 42-36 in the second half, but the Auggie lead never dropped below 13 as they hung on for the 15-point win.
• The Auggies hit 32 of their 67 shots (47.8%) in the game including 10-of-23 (43.5%) from deep. The Oles hit 29 of their 67 shots (43.3%) but struggled from behind the arc with just two made threes on 17 attempts.
• Palmer was sensational in the game, recording his fifth double-double of the season with 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds and three assists.
•  Will Schmidt had a strong outing, scoring 16 points on six-of-13 shooting while grabbing three boards, a steal, and a block. 
• Jack Sorenson (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) was a solid contributor off the bench with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal. He was efficient shooting the ball, hitting four of his six shots including three of four from deep.
• Conner Knoepfle (SR, Andover, Minn./Andover HS) tallied eight points in the game while Bradley Winter (JR, Winona, Minn./Winona HS) added seven points.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Following the game, Palmer sits atop the MIAC overall statistics rankings with 9.0 rebounds per-game and 23.5 points per game while sitting second with a field goal percentage of 58.1. Sorenson ranks second in the conference with a three point field goal percentage of 48.8.
• The 109th meeting between the two teams all-time, Augsburg holds a 61-48 all-time record against St. Olaf following Saturday's game.

FOR THE FOES
• Nathan Hendler led the Oles with 17 points on eight-of-16 shooting along with four rebounds.

UP NEXT
• The Auggies will travel to River Falls, Wisconsin to make up a previously postponed game against UW-River Falls on Wednesday, December 15 at 7 p.m.