ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team held Augsburg University to 24.1 percent shooting for the game in a 72-53 victory Saturday afternoon in the Leonard Center. The win came in the MIAC opener for the Scots, who are 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Auggies are now 1-1, 0-1 MIAC.

Macalester trailed early, 10-8, when a three-pointer by first year guard Eric Wentz (Minot, N.D./Minot) sparked a game-changing, 20-0 run to give the Scots a commanding 28-10 lead with 6:44 left in the half. Wentz and sophomore guard Coby Gold (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) each scored seven points in the run, while sophomore forwards Badou Ba (Dakar, Senegal/Williston Northampton) and Armando Akapo-Nwagbo (Owerri, Nigeria/Pomona) had blocks to keep the Auggies off the scoreboard. Augsburg went on a 9-2 run to pull to within 11, 30-19. Another three from Gold and a basket by junior guard Caleb Williams (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) helped Macalester take a 35-21 lead at halftime. The Scots limited the Auggies to 19.5 percent (8-of-41) shooting from the floor in the first half.

Gold opened the second half with a three, as Macalester maintained the upper hand after halftime. The lead grew to as many as 27 points, with a three from Williams putting the Scots ahead, 67-40 with 6:33 remaining. Augsburg cut the deficit to 18 late but were unable to mount a comeback, as Macalester won its fourth straight game to open the season. The Scots made 51.9 percent of their field goal attempts in the second half, including 5-of-9 from three-point range. The Auggies were 19-of-79 from the field for the game, while Macalester shot 47.5 percent from the floor for the game.

Gold hit 4-of-5 from beyond the arc to finish with 18 points. Williams registered 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Ba set personal bests with 14 points and 13 rebounds to go with five blocks. Wentz finished with 11 points and four boards. Also contributing to the Scots' stellar defensive effort was junior guard Tom Andreae (Newton, Mass./Newton North), who swiped a career-high four steals while delivering five assists. Kayser Hasaan led Augsburg with 13 points.

Macalester continues MIAC play with a game at Saint Mary's University on Tuesday, Nov. 22. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Winona, Minn.