Hamline's men's basketball team had three players in double figures and led most of the way in their conference opener Wednesday night against Augsburg at Hutton Arena. Unfortunately, the Auggies had five players in double figures and rallied in the last four minutes for a 69-60 victory.
Zach Smith poured in 18 points, Jay Betts added 17 and Kalu Abosi contributed 10 for HU, which dropped to 3-2 overall on the season.
Abosi scored the game's first five points and Smith added a jumper to help Hamline break fast to a 7-0 lead in the game's first 91 seconds. Despite Auigsburg making several runs at them, the Pipers persevered and took a 30-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, the visitors worked their way into the lead a couple of times and there were six tie scores as well. Betts' three-pointer with five minutes left gave HU a 52-51 advantage, a margin that eventually ballooned to five points. Augsburg, however, responded with three three-point baskets for a 60-56 edge and the Pipers couldn't catch up after that. In addition to his 10 points, Abosi had a team high five rebounds. Smith led with four assists and Betts also contributed in other ways with three steals.
The Pipers stay at Hutton on Saturday, December 3 to host Bethel. It's the second game of a women's-men's doubleheader and is slated for a 3:00 p.m. tipoff.