MINNEAPOLIS – The Augsburg University men's basketball team closed its shortened 2020-21 season with an impressive 75-71 victory over Saint John's University in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Si Melby Hall.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 75, Saint John's 71
LOCATION: Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 4-3 overall (3-3 MIAC), Saint John's 3-4 overall (2-3 MIAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Augsburg led 38-29 at the half, but the Johnnies slowly chipped away at the Augsburg lead, taking a 65-64 advantage with 4:18 to play. An Augsburg three-pointer by
Conner Knoepfle (JR, Andover, Minn.) gave the Auggies the lead back, going up 67-65. Augsburg would not relinquish the lead again, and converted on 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final 16 seconds to seal the win.
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Joe Palmer (SO, Faribault, Minn./Faribault HS) led Augsburg with a career-high 26 points. He also pulled down 11 rebounds, marking the fourth double-double of his Auggie career. Palmer was 9-of-18 from the field and added a career-high seven assists.
• Also finishing in double figures for Augsburg was
Jack Sorenson (SO, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS), who scored 14 points, shooting 5-of-8 from the field.
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Bradley Winter (SO, Winona, Minn./Winona HS) and
James Streeter (SR, Coon Rapids, Minn./Totino Grace HS) added nine points apiece, while
Matt Carik (SR, Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS) chipped in six points and five assists.
• For the game, Augsburg shot 45.0 percent (27-of-60) from the field, while the Johnnies connected on 50.9 percent (29-of-57) of their shot attempts. St. John's claimed a 34-29 advantage on the boards, but the big difference in the game came down to the three-point line where Augsburg was able to hit 14-of-31, while the Johnnies were held to 5-of-15.
FOR THE FOES
• The Johnnies were led by a 30-point, seven-rebound, six-assist effort from Ryan Thissen.
• Zach Hanson added a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double for Saint John's.
UP NEXT
• Today's game marked the final contest for the Auggies in this COIVD-19 shortened year.
