MORRIS, Minn. – The Augsburg University men's basketball team played its first road contest of the 2023 season on Tuesday evening, falling to the University of Minnesota Morris 86-64 in nonconference action.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: UM Morris 86, Augsburg 64
LOCATION: Jim Gremmels Court, Morris, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 1-1 overall, UM Morris 2-1 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED
• With Augsburg trailing 6-5 early in the opening half, the Cougars put together a 21-3 scoring run that allowed them to open a commanding lead at 27-8. The Auggies responded with a 10-0 run of their own to cut the deficit to nine, but the Cougars managed to expand the lead once again as they headed to halftime holding a 44-27 advantage.
• Augsburg was more efficient on its scoring chances in the second half, hitting on 42.9% of its shots compared to 34.6% in the first half, but the Cougars still managed to outscore the Auggies 42-37 in the half to put the game away.
• For the game, Augsburg knocked down 24 of its 61 attempts from the field (39.3%) while the Cougars hit on 29-of-57 (50.9%). Each team hit 10 shots from beyond the arc, with Morris attempting 15 such shots while the Auggies attempted 25. The Auggies held an advantage on the offensive glass, coming down with 14 offensive boards to Morris' six and outscoring the Cougars 16-8 in second-chance points.
• Playing in his second collegiate game, Trent Gomez (FY, Two Harbors, Minn./Two Harbors HS) reached the double-digit mark for the first time with 16 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting performance, also adding a game-leading five steals and two rebounds.
• Will Blascziek (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North HS) was the only other Auggie in double figures with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, also pulling down six rebounds. Elias Batala (FY, Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview HS) led the effort for the Augsburg bench, scoring nine points on 3-of-8 shooting and adding four rebounds.

FOR THE FOES
• Pal Dak was dominant for the Cougars, pouring in 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting and adding five rebounds.

UP NEXT
• The Auggies will open Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play hosting Bethel on Tuesday (11/21) at 7 pm.