MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Macalester College men's basketball team struggled in the first half and never recovered in a 102-70 defeat to Augsburg University in a MIAC game Saturday afternoon at Si Melby Hall. The Scots are now 6-9 overall and 1-5 in conference play, while the Auggies improve to 11-3, 4-1 MIAC.

Over the first 10 minutes of the game, first year guard Noah Hamburge (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) drained three three-pointers and first year guard Owen Walther (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School) added another to account for Macalester's first 12 points, as Augsburg built a 31-12 advantage midway through the half. The Scots continued to have difficulty scoring, as the Auggies pushed the lead to as many as 36 before taking a big 65-29 lead at the halftime break. Augsburg shot 63.2 percent (24-of-38) from the field, including 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) from beyond the arc, while holding Macalester to 34.5 percent shooting in the first half.

Augsburg scored the first basket of the second half for its largest lead of the game, 67-29. The Scots improved on offense after halftime, shooting 45.2 percent from the floor in the second half. First year forward Javier Diaz (Lake Oswego, Ore./Tualatin) tallied 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the second half, and Macalester held a 26-19 rebounding edge. But it was not enough to make much of a dent in the Auggies' lead, getting as close as 27 before eventually losing, 102-70.

Diaz finished with career highs of 22 points and nine rebounds in his best game as a Scot. He shot 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the field and made all five of his free throw attempts. Hamburge went 4-of-9 from three-point range en route to 16 points. First year guard Jamal Randle (St. Paul, Minn./Great River School) scored nine points, while senior forward Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) contributed eight points, nine rebounds and four assists. Elias Batala led Augsburg with 16 points.

Macalester returns home to host St. Scholastica on Wednesday, Jan. 14. The MIAC game starts at 7:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.