By Kevin Sethre, staff writer

The Augsburg men’s basketball team continued their shortened season with a 92-63 blowout win over Hamline on Sunday afternoon before losing to Saint Mary’s 81-79 on Monday night.

Sunday’s game against the Pipers was tight at the beginning, but a 21-10 run in the last eight minutes of the first half gave the Auggies a twelve-point lead at the break. The lead grew bigger in the second half thanks to stellar 64.3% shooting from the field and 40% from beyond the arc by Augsburg. Jack Sorenson, Joe Palmer, Bradley Winter, Matt Carik and Connor Knoepfle all hit double digits in points. Sorenson also had a team-high with eight assists and four steals, and Winter led the team in rebounds with five. The win brought Augsburg’s winning streak against the Pipers up to 11 straight, with the last Hamline win coming in February of 2015.

The Auggies started well against the Cardinals, jumping out to a 15-point lead with 10 minutes remaining in the first half and taking a 46-36 lead into the locker room. St. Mary’s chipped away throughout the second half and took a lead with less than a minute left in the game.  Some clutch shooting from the three-point line and the free-throw line made the difference for the Cardinals, who won 81-79 in the end. Palmer had a great game for Augsburg, recording a double-double with 23 points and eleven rebounds. It was the first time that St. Mary’s had won at Si Melby Hall since Feb. 10, 2007. 

The Auggies, now 2-2 overall and 1-2 in conference play, are in action next on Saturday at 2 PM when they host St. Thomas.