After starting the season at 0-3, Augsburg is now 5-4 overall, winning their fifth game in their last six contests.
In dropping to 6-5 on the season, Northwestern-Roseville was paced by Jeff VerSteeg (Sr., Willmar, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian HS), who scored 27 points and went over the 1,000-point mark in his career. VerSteeg now has 1,019 career points. Ted Taatjes (Sr., Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian HS) fell one assist short of a triple-double for the Eagles, scoring 12 points with 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Olson-Patterson scored 19 points in the first half, as the Auggies rallied from an early 10-point deficit to take a 10-point lead at halftime, 44-34. Augsburg trailed 24-14 with 10:18 remaining in the first half, but used a 25-5 run over the next seven minutes to take a 39-29 lead.
Augsburg jumped out of the gate quickly in the second half to extend the lead to 19 points, 55-36 with 15:41 remaining. But a 14-0 run by Northwestern cut the lead to five points, 55-50, with 11:25 left. Augsburg built the lead to 10 points again, but Northwestern took advantage of poor Augsburg free-throw shooting late to trim the lead to two points, 77-75 with 27 seconds left.
Augsburg managed just 13-of-25 (52.0 percent) shooting from the charity stripe, including hitting just 6-of-15 in the second half. In the final 1:02 of play, Augsburg hit just 4-of-11 from the line, keeping the Eagles in the contest. However, Augsburg took advantage of 18 Northwestern turnovers, converting 19 points off of 12 steals.
Olson-Patterson went 12-of-20 from the field for the Auggies, conntecting on four 3-pointers. Justin Kozlowski (Fr., Wausau, Wis./Wausau Newman HS) scored 14 points, hitting three 3-pointers and going 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. Dan Graf (So., Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) scored 12 points, adding six rebounds and three steals. Devin Rose (Fr., Granton, Wis.) added eight points and two steals.
Daniel Hanson (Fr., Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha HS) had 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Northwestern, while Joseph Sir (Jr., Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood HS) had 13 points.
Augsburg returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Monday (1/3), hosting St. Thomas as part of a men's/women's doubleheader at Si Melby Hall. The women's game is at 5:30 p.m., with the men's game following at 7:30 p.m. Northwestern opens Upper Midwest Athletic Conference on Friday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m., hosting Martin Luther.
Northwestern-Roseville (Minn.) vs Augsburg College 12/30/04 7:30 p.m. at Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn. At Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn. AUGSBURG COLLEGE 80, NORTHWESTERN-ROSEVILLE (MINN.) 77 NORTHWESTERN-ROSEVILLE (MINN.) (6-5) VerSteeg, Jeff 9-11 9-13 27; Hanson, Daniel 6-7 0-0 15; Sir, Joseph 4-16 2-3 13; Taatjes, Ted 4-11 3-4 12; Haake, Max 3-6 1-2 8; Baker, Caleb 0-2 2-2 2; Oldenburger, Landon 0-1 0-0 0; Ernster, Jeremy 0-1 0-0 0; Lecheler, James 0-1 0-0 0; Spencer, Josiah 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 17-24 77. AUGSBURG COLLEGE (5-4) LucasOlson-Patterson 12-20 4-9 32; Justin Kozlowski 3-3 5-6 14; Dan Graf 4-14 4-8 12; Devin Rose 4-9 0-0 8; Zeph Jones 2-5 0-1 4; Charlie Scott 1-3 0-0 3; Adam Brister 1-1 0-0 3; Zac Rosen 1-4 0-0 2; Aaron Benesh 1-5 0-0 2; Justin Olson 0-1 0-0 0; Kevin Keto 0-4 0-1 0. Totals 29-69 13-25 80. Northwestern-Roseville (Minn.) 34 43 - 77 Augsburg College.............. 44 36 - 80 3-point goals-Northwestern-Roseville (Minn.) 8-23 (Hanson, Daniel 3-4; Sir, Joseph 3-9; Haake, Max 1-3; Taatjes, Ted 1-4; Lecheler, James 0-1; Spencer, Josiah 0-1; Baker, Caleb 0-1), Augsburg College 9-22 (LucasOlson-Patterson 4-7; Justin Kozlowski 3-3; Adam Brister 1-1; Charlie Scott 1-2; Zac Rosen 0-2; Aaron Benesh 0-1; Kevin Keto 0-1; Devin Rose 0-1; Dan Graf 0-4). Fouled out--Northwestern-Roseville (Minn.)-Baker, Caleb, Augsburg College-None. Rebounds-Northwestern-Roseville (Minn.) 43 (Taatjes, Ted 11), Augsburg College 39 (LucasOlson-Patterson 9). Assists-Northwestern-Roseville (Minn.) 23 (Taatjes, Ted 9), Augsburg College 20 (Kevin Keto 7). Total fouls-Northwestern-Roseville (Minn.) 25, Augsburg College 18. A-125.