NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton College men's basketball team came out on the wrong end of another tight contest, falling to the Augsburg University Auggies 74-70 in the final minute. This was the 10th time in the Knights' first 11 games that the final score was within six points or less, with five of those contests being one-possession battles.
Carleton (7-4, 2-2 MIAC) started strong, with a
Sam Koelling three and a
Matt Drake and-one giving the Knights a 6-0 lead after a minute. Augsburg (6-6, 3-1 MIAC) arrested the hot start quickly and embarked on a 9-0 run a few minutes later to go up 18-10 at 12:48 remaining in the opening period. The Auggies continued to scorch the nets throughout the first half, shooting 57 percent from the field and 50 percent (6-of-12) from deep, and finished the first half up 41-31.
The Knights roared out of the break, embarking on a 15-2 run to take a 46-45 lead with 13:04 to go. The game tightened from there, with neither team able to muster an advantage of more than four points for the remainder of the contest.
The game went into the final minute tied at 66-66, and a wild final 60 seconds ensued. Andy Stafford quickly gave Augsburg a two-point lead with a driving layup, but a tough bucket down low for Koelling tied it up again. On the next possession, Julien Hussherr canned a crucial three from the corner to put the Auggies up 71-68.
Luke Harris was fouled soon after and hit both free throws to keep Carleton within one, and when the Knights fouled intentionally on the ensuing play, Trent Gomez made the first but missed the second free throw to keep the score 72-70. Unfortunately, the Knights were unable to secure the rebound, which ended up in the hands of Stafford, who missed both free throws he took after getting fouled.
Harris raced down the court off the ensuing trip, looking to tie, and drew a foul on a final-second runner from the top of the arc. However, he missed the first attempt, and an intentional miss on the second try went awry. Hussherr was sent to the line once again off an inbounds play with 0.6 seconds remaining and nailed both free throws to ice the game.
Carleton outshot Augsburg overall, hitting 53.6 percent of their shots from the floor to the Auggies' 49.1 percent. However, the visitors went 8-for-16 from three-point range (50.0 percent) to Carleton's 3-for-11 (27.3 percent). The Knights outrebounded Augsburg 33-28.
Harris led the Knights with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, adding six rebounds and four assists. Koelling notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards, contributing two blocks and two steals on the defensive end. Drake scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting with six rebounds and four helpers.
Patrick Smith scored a career-high eight points off the bench.
Stafford had a massive double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds, with Hussherr and Mario Adams joining him in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton returns to action quickly, with the first leg in the annual battle for the Goat Trophy as crosstown rival St. Olaf College visits West Gym on Monday, Jan. 6. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. The contest is technically a non-conference affair and will not count towards the MIAC final standings.
