Macalester led for a majority of the contest and was on top 43-32 in the middle of the second half, but could not hold off visiting Augsburg in a narrow 58-56 defeat to the Auggies at the Leonard Center.
Pierce Peters (Jr., Glenwood, Minn. / Minnewaska Area) canned 7-of-10 from outside the arc and finished with 28 points to keep Macalester's upset bid alive until the very end. In addition to producing his 10th 20-point game of the campaign, Peters also gave the Scots six rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals. He's averaging 19.0 points a night and shooting 44% from three-point range.
Hans Erickson (Fy., La Crosse, Wis. / Logan) matched a season-high with seven assists and Sam Marshall (Jr., Sun Prairie, Wis.) joined Peters to give Macalester a strong one-two punch, finishing with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Macalester held Augsburg to 37% shooting, including a 1-for-17 three-point figure. The Auggies, however, went 19-for-26 from the free throw line, compared to 9-for-16 for the Scots.
Augsburg holds on to fourth place in the MIAC standings and improves to 14-8 overall and 11-6 in conference play. Noah Veach came off the bench to produce 19 points in 20 minutes and gave the Auggies the margin of victory with a three-point play with :40 to go, erasing a two-point Macalester margin. Andy Grzesiak-Grimm finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Mac's heart-breaking defeat drops the Scots to 1-21 overall and 1-14 in the MIAC. The Scots return to action Saturday (Feb. 11) at first-place Gustavus.