ST. PAUL, Minn. – Despite another late comeback effort, the Augsburg University men's basketball team fell 65-63 to Macalester College in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Monday at the Leonard Center.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Macalester 65, Augsburg 63
LOCATION: Leonard Center, St. Paul, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 15-6 overall (12-4 MIAC), Macalester 11-12 overall (8-10 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The game was evenly matched in the early minutes, with Augsburg holding a narrow 21-20 lead at the midpoint of the first half. The momentum shifted heavily in favor of the Scots in the following minutes as they would go on a 17-0 run and take a 13-point lead over the Auggies. Augsburg fought back and cut the deficit to seven, making it a 39-32 game at half.
• The Macalester lead grew to as many as 12 points again in the second half, but the Auggies used a 10-3 run to make it just a three-point game with 16 seconds left. Following a pair of Macalester free throws, Rayquan Moore (JR, Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) hit a triple with four seconds remaining to make it 65-63 in favor of the Scots.
• The Auggies had a chance after a missed free throw by the Scots, but the final shot did not fall and Macalester hung on for the two-point win.
•  Joe Palmer (JR, Faribault, Minn./Faribault HS) nearly notched a double-double, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds along with three assists, two blocks, and a steal.
• Matt Carik (SR, Rogers Minn./Rogers HS) was just behind him, recording 14 points on six-of-nine shooting along with four rebounds and a steal.
• Jack Sorenson (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) also finished in double figures with 10 points and two rebounds.
•  Conner Knoepfle (SR, Andover, Minn./Andover HS) and Bradley Winter (JR, Winona, Minn./Winona HS) added seven points each, with Knoepfle grabbing seven rebounds and a steal and Winter contributing six rebounds and two blocks.
• The Auggies outscored the Scots 9-1 in second chance points and 18-8 on fast break chances.
 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Following the game, Palmer remains atop the MIAC overall statistics rankings with 9.0 rebounds per-game and 21.6 points per-game. Sorenson ranks fourth in the conference with a three-point field goal percentage of 43.6%.

FOR THE FOES
• Coby Gold led the Scots with 13 points while Caleb Williams finished with 11.

UP NEXT
• The Auggies will finish the regular season at Concordia-Moorhead on Wednesday (2/16) at 7:15 p.m.