MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The first time the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team squared off against Augsburg, the Cardinals trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half, before draining seven, second-half 3-pointers in a come-from-behind 68-65 victory at the Saint Mary's Gym.
Wednesday evening, the two teams met again-and for the second time in as many meetings, the Cardinals were staring at a double-figure deficit at the half.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, this time around, there would be no second-half comeback.
Augsburg outscored the Cardinals 47-35 in the first half and never let them get closer than eight over the game's final 20 minutes in handing Saint Mary's a 75-64 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Si Melby Hall.
Saint Mary's had the upper hand early, scoring nine of the game's first 11 points. Augsburg battled back, taking a 20-17 lead with 11 minutes remaining.
Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Minn.) drained a 3-pointer to pull the Cardinals even, 20-20, but the Auggies closed the half on a 27-15 run to take their 12-point, 47-35 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Cardinals opened the half on a 6-1 burst to whittle the Augsburg lead to eight, but that as close as they would get, falling behind by as many as 21, 71-50, with five minutes remaining. Saint Mary's closed the game by scoring 14 of the final 18 points, but it just wasn't enough.
Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) scored a team-high 13 points for the Cardinals, who shot 46 percent from the field (23-for-50)-including a 6 of 9 effort from behind the 3-point line.
Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) and
Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) also scored in double figures for Saint Mary's, netting 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Collin Olmscheid netted a game-high 20 points and Brett Rasmussen added 14 for the Auggies, who went 29-for-54 (54 percent) from the field with five 3-pointers.
The Cardinals (4-9 MIAC, 6-11 overall) are back on the road on Saturday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference showdown with Carleton.
