MINNEAPOLIS – Spreading the ball around evenly with five different players in double figures, the Augsburg University men's basketball team defeated Bethel University 82-66 on Wednesday evening in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff quarterfinals and will advance to the semifinals where they will host Macalester College.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 82, Bethel 66
LOCATION: Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 17-6 overall (13-4 MIAC), Bethel 12-13 overall (8-10 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Bethel held an early 17-13 edge at the 12:03 mark in the first, but the Auggies went on a 13-0 scoring run spanning the next four minutes to take a 26-17 lead. The Royals fought back and briefly recaptured the lead with four minutes to play in the first, but Augsburg answered once again with a 13-4 scoring run to take an eight-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
• The Royals refused to go away easily as they stormed back to take another brief two-point lead, but Augsburg reclaimed the advantage for what proved to be the last time at the 12:50 mark in the second half. The Auggie lead continued to grow in the final minutes, reaching a game-high 16 points when the final buzzer sounded.
• Will Schmidt (SR, Maple Grove, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) led Augsburg off the bench with a career-high 17 points on seven-of-10 shooting and three-of-five from deep while also adding four rebounds.
• Conner Knoepfle (SR, Andover, Minn./Andover HS) was the second-leading scorer, tallying 15 points, five rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
• Joe Palmer (JR, Faribault, Minn./Faribault HS) notched his 11th double-double of the season with 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, also grabbing four assists, two steals, and a block.
• Jack Sorenson (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) and Matt Carik (SR, Rogers Minn./Rogers HS) added 12 and 11 points for the Auggies, respectively.
• The Auggies outscored the Royals 19-8 off turnovers, 23-9 in bench points, 14-13 in second chance points, and 48-36 in the paint.
 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Following the game, Palmer remains atop the MIAC overall statistics rankings with 9.0 rebounds per-game and 21.1 points per-game. Sorenson ranks second in the conference with a three-point field goal percentage of 44.8%.

FOR THE FOES
• Zach Doely led the Royals with a game-high 28 points and 12 rebounds while Dom Aguilar finished with 16 points and three assists.

UP NEXT
• The Auggies will advance to the MIAC Playoff semifinal round where they will host Macalester College at Si Melby Hall on Friday (2/25) at 7:45 p.m.