WINONA, Minn. – Leaning heavily on a dominant offensive performance by Joe Palmer (JR, Faribault, Minn./Faribault HS), the Augsburg University men's basketball team earned a convincing 79-61 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Saint Mary's University on Wednesday evening.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 79, Saint Mary's 61
LOCATION: Saint Mary's Fieldhouse, Winona, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 15-4 overall (12-2 MIAC), Saint Mary's 8-13 overall (6-11 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• After a back-and -forth opening five minutes with four lead changes, the Auggies used an 8-0 run beginning at the 14:34 mark to carve out an early double-digit advantage. After leading by as many as 19, Augsburg carried a 41-28 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
• The Cardinals never managed to cut the deficit to less than 13 in the second half with the Auggie lead ballooning to as many as 24 en route to the 18-point victory.
• Palmer had a career night for the Auggies, notching his fourth game with at least 30 points this season with a career-high 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the floor including six-of-10 from beyond the arc. He also added in six rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
• Jack Sorenson (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) was the second-leading scorer with 12 points on four-of-seven shooting alongside two steals, a rebound, and an assist.
 Matt Carik (SR, Rogers Minn./Rogers HS) was the third and final Auggie to finish in double figures, recording 11 points and tying the team-high with seven rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal.
•  Conner Knoepfle (SR, Andover, Minn./Andover HS) scored seven with three assists and a board while Will Schmidt (SR, Maple Grove, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) added seven points and tied for the team-high with seven rebounds.
• The Auggies connected on 26 of their 59 shots (44.1%) and 11 of their 28 (39.3%) attempts from beyond the arc compared to the Cardinals' 25-of-63 (39.7%) shooting performance.
• Augsburg cashed in on opportunities off of turnovers throughout the game, dominating the Cardinals 23-2 in the category.
 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Following the game, Palmer remains atop the MIAC overall statistics rankings with 9.3 rebounds per-game and 21.7 points per-game while sitting third with a field goal percentage of 54.8%. Sorenson ranks fifth in the conference with a three-point field goal percentage of 43.0%.

FOR THE FOES
• Caden Freetly led the Cardinals with 13 points while Raheem Anthony notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

UP NEXT
• The Auggies will return home for a matchup against the MIAC-leading Johnnies of Saint John's University with a chance to reclaim the conference lead on Saturday (2/12) at 3 p.m. at Si Melby Hall.