MINNEAPOLIS – Despite holding the lead for more than 32 minutes during the game, the Augsburg University men's basketball team fell to Saint John's University 68-65 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Conference Play at Si Melby Hall on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Saint John's 68, Augsburg 65
LOCATION: Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 15-5 overall (12-3 MIAC), Saint John's 19-4 overall, 16-2 MIAC

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Johnnies held the lead through most of the first five minutes of play, but the Auggies regained control at the 14:36 mark and held the lead through the rest of the half, stretching it to as many as 11 points. At the half, Augsburg carried a 33-24 advantage.
• Saint John's went to work in the opening minutes of the second half, erasing the deficit and tying the game at 36 less than five minutes in. The Auggies jumped back on top and pushed it all the way to nine points once again, but the Johnnies would not go away as they tied the game up at 51 with 7:30 remaining.
• The Auggies maintained a narrow advantage through the next six minutes of play, but Saint John's took its third lead of the game with just over a minute remaining. Joe Palmer (JR, Faribault, Minn./Faribault HS) briefly put the Auggies back on top with a pair of free throws at the 37-second mark, but the Johnnies responded with four made free throws of their own to seal the game.
• Palmer checked in as the scoring leader, notching 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in the game.
• Jack Sorenson (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) was the only other Auggie in double figures with 12 points, a team-high six boards, a block, an assist, and a steal.
•  Rayquan Moore (JR, Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) finished with nine points for Augsburg off the bench to go along with two steals, two assists, and a rebound.
• Matt Carik (SR, Rogers Minn./Rogers HS) and Conner Knoepfle (SR, Andover, Minn./Andover HS) added eight points and two assists each with five rebounds and three rebounds, respectively.
• The Auggies edged Saint John's 16-14 in points off turnovers, 15-11 in second chance points, and 12-8 in bench points.
 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Following the game, Palmer remains atop the MIAC overall statistics rankings with 9.0 rebounds per-game and 21.9 points per-game while sitting fifth with a field goal percentage of 53.5%. Sorenson ranks fifth in the conference with a three-point field goal percentage of 43.8%.

FOR THE FOES
• Zach Hanson led the Johnnies with 16 points while Kooper Vaughn added 12 points. All five Saint John's starters finished in double figures.

UP NEXT
• The Auggies will take on Macalester College on Monday (2/14) at 7:45 p.m. in St. Paul