Kevin Sethre, Contributor

The Augsburg men’s basketball team beat the Concordia Moorhead Cobbers 81-71 on Dec. 8, bringing their record to 6-1 on the season. After a competitive first half where the lead changed five times, the Auggies pulled ahead less than a minute into the second and never looked back. Booker Coplin led the way with 28 points and eight rebounds.

Coplin started out strong, scoring the first 18 Auggie points as the Cobbers built an early lead. Back-to-back three-pointers by Kevin McKiernan and Martin Mitchell put the Auggies up by two with seven minutes left, but neither team would lead by more than four for the rest of the half. The Cobbers finished on a 9-4 run and took a 33-32 lead into the break.

The Auggies took the lead early in the second half but were unable to extend it to more than six points for most of the game. They took a seven-point lead with just over two minutes left, but the Cobbers quickly cut it to 71-69 and started fouling to stop the clock. The Auggies made all 10 free throws they took in the last minute, including eight by Matt Carik, and eventually won by 10.

Augsburg shot great from beyond the arc, making 52.6% of its three-point attempts, including 75% in the second half. Coplin and Henry Mulligan led the team, both making four three-pointers on seven attempts. Mulligan finished second on the team with 18 points on 10 shots.

Another factor that helped the Auggies win was defense; they finished with 11 steals and forced 14 Cobber turnovers which lead to 13 points off turnovers.

McKiernan led the team in assists with seven, also recording nine points and three steals during the contest.

The win gave the Auggie’s a 3-1 record in MIAC games, putting them in fourth early in the season. After defeating UM-Morris 99-67 on Tuesday, they travel to Iowa to face Loras College on Dec. 15 in their final game of 2018.

This article was originally published in the Dec. 14, 2018 issue. 

Mark Della Vedova leaping for the opening tip-off against the Cobber’s Saturday afternoon. Photo by Greg Miller.