Kevin Sethre, staff writer

The Augsburg men’s and women’s basketball teams both had a rough weekend, with the men’s team losing 81-70 to St. Thomas at Si Melby Hall and the women’s team traveling across the river to St. Paul where they were defeated 89-42 by the Tommies.

The men’s team got into an early hole against St. Thomas, who jumped out to a double-digit lead within the first eight minutes of the game. Augsburg struggled to catch up, only making 23.1% of their three-pointers while St. Thomas shot 47% from three. Despite the loss, there were still solid performances amongst the players. Matt Carik scored 14 points, pulled down four rebounds, recorded four assists, and had a game-high four steals. Will Schmidt also scored 14 points to go with five rebounds, and Joe Palmer scored 12 points while leading the team with seven rebounds. Augsburg has now lost three straight games against St. Thomas, with their last win coming when they knocked the top-seeded Tommies out of the playoffs in 2019. The Auggies will finish their season on Saturday when they host Saint John’s.

The women’s team is still without a win this season after getting dominated by St. Thomas.  The Tommies were in control from the very start, leading 24-10 at the end of the first quarter and only increasing their lead from there. Jen Masello was Augsburg’s best player in the game, finishing with 12 points and five rebounds. Chloe Kintop came off the bench to gain eight points and two rebounds for the team. The Auggies will travel to St. Joseph to face Saint Benedict on Saturday to conclude their season. 

Both teams have struggled this season as they lost key contributors from last season. The men’s team saw four of their top six players who played the highest number of minutes last season graduate while the women’s team lost four of their top five players with the most playing time.  Filling those holes can be difficult, and the uncertainty and postponements caused by the pandemic made it even harder.

There will be no postseason tournaments of any form due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a MIAC news release in January.