In his 10th season at Mac, Coach Kietzer moves to 100-130 overall after beginning a daunting rebuilding project in 1997-98. The program had produced just 14 wins in the six seasons before Kietzer took over.
After providing 26 points and 10 assists earlier in the week in a MIAC win over Concordia, Woldeslassie broke down the Augsburg defense consistently in the second half and did most of his damage from the inside, going 11-for-18 from the field and 7-for-9 from the foul line while turning the ball over just once. On the season, he’s shooting 56% from the floor and has taken over the team’s scoring leader with an 18.2 average through 10 games. Woldeslassie is also averaging 5.3 assists per game.
Jesse Hollander also had a big game, finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double on the season. He also contributed four assists and two steals, and eight of his rebounds were on the offensive end. Hollander had eight of his team’s 12 offensive boards.
Woldeslassie and Hollander were was joined in double figures by Tom Conboy with 17 points and Liddell with 12. Brain Ranwick added nine points and three steals.
Dan Graf went 3-for-4 from behind the three-point line and finished with 18 points to pace the Auggies, who trailed 38-33 at halftime despite shooting 64% - thanks mostly to a 17-4 Mac turnover advantage.
Graf was joined in double figures by Femi Solaja with 15 points and Jon Cassens with 14. Graff also gave Augsburg 10 rebounds, four assists and a couple steals.
Macalester led the entire second half but could not make a margin a safe one until pulling away late, turning a six-point 73-67 lead into a 14-point win by out-scoring the Auggies 17-9 over the final 3:55 with the help of good free throw shooting.
Macalester plays host Monday (Jan. 8) to St. John’s. Augsburg plays Monday at St. Thomas.
ugsburg vs Macalester 1/6/07 1:00 p.m. at St. Paul, Minn. (Macalester Gym) At St. Paul, Minn. (Macalester Gym) MACALESTER 90, AUGSBURG 76 AUGSBURG (6-4, 3-2 MIAC) Dan Graf 5-7 5-7 18; Femi Solaja 7-9 1-1 15; Jon Cassens 5-6 2-2 14; Darren Nelson 5-8 1-1 11; Chuck Scott 2-10 3-6 8; Mitch Dice 3-7 0-0 7; Zach Krumwiede 1-3 1-2 3; Grant Hemmingsen 0-0 0-2 0; David Olson 0-0 0-0 0; Matt Beal 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-51 13-21 76. MACALESTER (5-5, 2-3 MIAC) Abe Woldeslassie 11-18 7-9 32; Tom Conboy 7-15 3-7 17; Brad Liddell 4-10 0-0 12; Jesse Hollander 2-5 7-8 11; Brian Ranwick 2-6 4-4 9; Lars Johnson 1-4 3-4 5; Andy Stein 1-3 2-2 4; Paul Richie 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-63 26-34 90. Augsburg...................... 33 43 - 76 Macalester.................... 38 52 - 90 3-point goals-Augsburg 7-21 (Dan Graf 3-4; Jon Cassens 2-3; Mitch Dice 1-4; Chuck Scott 1-7; Matt Beal 0-1; Zach Krumwiede 0-2), Macalester 8-21 (Brad Liddell 4-8; Abe Woldeslassie 3-6; Brian Ranwick 1-4; Paul Richie 0-2; Jesse Hollander 0-1). Fouled out--Augsburg-Jon Cassens; Dan Graf, Macalester-Jesse Hollander; Brad Liddell. Rebounds-Augsburg 37 (Dan Graf 10), Macalester 27 (Jesse Hollander 12). Assists-Augsburg 19 (Zach Krumwiede 5), Macalester 13 (Jesse Hollander 4). Total fouls-Augsburg 26, Macalester 20. A-275