Junior guard Marcus Alipate scored a career-high 22 points as No. 18-ranked St. Thomas opened its conference season with a 71-53 road win over previously-unbeaten Augsburg in Wednesday night's MIAC men's basketball play in Minneapolis.

The Tommies (3-1 overall, 1-0 MIAC) made 10 3-pointers in a matchup of 2013 conference playoff finalists, including five by Alipate.

UST shot 59 percent from the field to just 38 percent for the hosts and helped hold Augsburg (3-1, 0-1) 32 points under its 85.3 ppg season average.

UST senior Zach Riedeman had 13 points and nine rebounds; junior Conner Nord had 12 points and five boards; and soph Ryan Saarela, in his first career start, added 10 points and five rebounds. Senior point guard Erik Tengwall added six assists.

Noah Veach had 19 points for the Auggies.

St. Thomas led j37-27 at halftime and kept a double-digit advantage throughout the second half.

UST has a bye on Saturday and plays Monday at Macalester.