Minneapolis – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team fell at the hands of Augsburg College by the final score of 83-59 on Wednesday night at Si Melby Hall. The Auggies opened the game on a 15-3 run and would never look back, as they cruised to the 24-point win. Augsburg did its damage inside, outscoring the Gusties 42-24 in the paint. With tonight’s result, Gustavus drops to 12-6 overall and 9-4 in the MIAC, while Augsburg improves to 12-6 overall and 8-5 in league play.
After three possessions without a score to start the game, Gustavus took its first lead 2:29 in when Jordan Dick (Sr., Wabasha, Minn.) nailed a three-pointer. The triple gave the Gusties a 3-2 lead, which would prove to be their last glimmer of hope for the remainder of the night as Augsburg rattled off 13 straight points to take a 15-3 lead and would never look back.
The run began with a free throw from Dan Kornbaum to tie the game. After missing his second free throw attempt, the Auggies grabbed the offensive rebound, which led to a pair of free throws for Joey Sonnenfeld.
After Sonnenfeld missed both tries from the line, Augsburg again pulled down the offensive board, which led to a layup for Sonnenfeld and the Auggies had the lead back (5-3). The sequence was indicative of how the remainder of the night would go for the Gusties, as they would not lead the rest of the way.
Augsburg went on to lead by as many as 24 points (38-14) in the first half on the way to a 45-23 lead at the break. Gustavus struggled offensively in the opening 20 minutes, shooting just 37.5 percent (9-24) from the floor compared to 54.8 percent (17-31) for the Auggies. Augsburg did most of its rebounding damage in the opening frame with an advantage of 25-9.
Gustavus would cut the lead to 16 points (45-29) in the early minutes of the second half, but it was as close as the Gusties would come in the loss. Augsburg would lead by as many as 27 points (63-36) in the second half before settling for the 24-point victory.
Augsburg’s Andy Seidlitz led all scorers in the game with 18 points on 6 of 12 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers. Parker Hines followed with 17 points on 5 of 9 shooting, four of which were from three-point land. He also dished out a game-high seven assists. Dan Kornbaum came next with 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting to go along with a game-high nine rebounds, and Noah Veach scored 13 points with four offensive rebounds.
Jordan Dick led Gustavus in scoring with 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting with three three-pointers. Martin Feddersen (Jr., Winona, Minn.) followed with 13 points on 6 of 8 shooting, while Peter Kruize (Fr., St. Peter, Minn.) provided 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench. Chris Narum (So., Eagan, Minn.) dished out a team-high five assists.
Gustavus will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when it plays host to St. Olaf. Saturday’s opening tip is set for 3:00 p.m., directly following the women’s game.