MENOMONIE, Wis. -- Connecting on a season-best 61.7 percent from the field, the Augsburg University men's basketball team led from start to finish and held off a University of Wisconsin-Stout comeback in an 81-77 nonconference victory on Friday evening.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 81, Wisconsin-Stout 77
LOCATION: Johnson Fieldhouse, Menomonie, Wis.
RECORDS: Augsburg 6-1 overall, UW-Stout 3-5 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Augsburg held the lead for all but the opening 31 seconds of the game, shooting 29-of-47 (61.7 percent) from the field. Augsburg led 41-35 at halftime and pulled away in the second half, eventually taking a 25-point lead with 8:12 left. UW-Stout cut into the advantage with a 19-2 run over the next 4:29 to cut the lead to single digits, but the Auggies stayed in front the rest of the way.
• Hanif Muhammad (SO, Minneapolis, Minn./Breck HS) scored a season-high 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, adding five assists and four steals to lead the Auggies in the win.
• JJ Semanko (FY, New Hope, Minn./Hopkins HS) claimed his second straight double-double, scoring 16 points -- 10-of-12 from the free-throw line -- with 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals.
• Daveion Hart (FY, Brooklyn Park, Minn./Hopkins HS) scored 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, and Elias Batala (JR, Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview HS) scored scored 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field.
• Augsburg held a 40-28 advantage in points-in-the-paint, despite being outrebounded by a 32-25 margin. The Auggies also scored 28 points off of 19 UW-Stout turnovers, compared to 12 Blue Devils' points on 16 Auggie turnovers.

FOR THE FOES
• Tyrel Creger scored 23 points to lead UW-Stout, while Wesley Mboga scored 15 points with seven rebounds.
• Collin Vick scored eight points with nine rebounds, eight assists and two steals.

UP NEXT
• Augsburg returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Monday (12/8) at 7 p.m., with a game at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.