COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – In a battle of the conference unbeatens, the Augsburg University men's basketball team took down Saint John's University 67-66 on Saturday afternoon to move to 12-2 overall and 9-0 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play and take sole possession of the top spot in the conference.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 67, Saint John's 66
LOCATION: Sexton Arena, Collegeville, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 12-2 overall (9-0 MIAC), Saint John's 11-3 overall (8-1 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• It was all Augsburg early on as the Auggies jumped out to an early 19-5 lead at the 13:35 mark in the first half. The Auggies' lead would grow to as many as 17 before the Johnnies managed to cut the deficit to 11 heading into halftime.
• The Johnnies slowly chipped away at the Augsburg lead coming out of halftime, eventually tying the game at 52 with 8:29 remaining before taking their first lead with 6:12 remaining.
• The two teams matched each other blow-for-blow down the stretch, but Augsburg clawed its way to a three-point lead with 33 seconds left. Saint John's managed to cut the deficit to one with 18 seconds left and had a chance to inbound the ball and take a potential game-winning shot with three ticks left on the clock, but the Auggie defense stepped up big as the heavily contested shot did not fall for the Johnnies and the Auggies claimed the one-point win.
• Joe Palmer (JR, Faribault, Minn./Faribault HS) was as dominant as he has ever been, notching his second career 30-plus point 10-plus rebound performance with 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting and 10 rebounds in the game. The junior knocked down four of his nine shots from beyond the arc and went a perfect four-for-four at the free throw line.
• Will Schmidt (SR, Maple Grove, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) provided a spark off the bench for the Auggies as he hit three of his four shots, all of which came from beyond the arc, for 11 points while grabbing two rebounds. Matt Carik (SR, Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS) was the only other Auggie to reach double figures as he recorded 10 points on three-of-seven shooting alongside four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
• Conner Knoepfle (SR, Andover, Minn./Andover HS) and Bradley Winter (JR, Winona, Minn./Winona HS) were also key players, scoring seven each for Augsburg. Knoepfle also tallied a team-high five assists and a rebound while Winter grabbed two rebounds.
•  The Auggies dominated fast break opportunities, scoring 10 points to the Johnnies' 2. Augsburg also edged Saint John's in bench points 11-9 with all 11 points coming from Schmidt.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Following the game, Palmer remains atop the MIAC overall statistics rankings with 9.4 rebounds per-game and 23.0 points per-game while sitting fifth with a field goal percentage of 56.4. Sorenson ranks fifth in the conference with a three-point field goal percentage of 44.1.
• The Auggies' 9-0 start in MIAC play this season marks their best start since 1979-80 season when they started 11-0 in MIAC play and 20-0 overall.

FOR THE FOES
• The Johnnies were led by the scoring trio of Mitchell Plombon with 16 points, Colton Codute with 15 points, and Zach Hanson with 12 points.

UP NEXT
• Now owning sole possession of first place in the MIAC, the Auggies will head to Duluth, Minn. for a matchup against St. Scholastica on Wednesday (1/19) at 7 p.m.