NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Sam Koelling had game highs of 19 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 4 seed Carleton College to a 73-57 victory over No. 5 seed Augsburg University in the quarterfinals of the MIAC Playoffs. The Knights (19-7) advance to play at top seed Gustavus Adolphus College in the semifinals on Thursday.
"What a great atmosphere at West Gym tonight," said Carleton head coach Ryan Kershaw, "that was so much fun to be part of. Congrats to Augsburg on an excellent season. They presented so different challenges for us offensively and defensively, and the guys were ready.
"We did a very nice job defensively throughout the game and were able to keep them off the glass down the stretch which allowed us to get out in transition and to get a few easy baskets."
When these sides met in early January — a 74-70 Augsburg victory — the Auggies' (12-14) leading scorer, Andy Stafford, erupted for 27 points and 10 rebounds. This time, Koelling shut down the Augsburg forward, limiting him to 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
Koelling was not the only factor for the Knights this time, as they received contributions up and down the lineup. Playing their final games at West Gym, seniors Luke Harris and Spencer Goetz chipped in 14 and 12, respectively, while first-year Matt Drake followed with 14 of his own. In just his third career start, Tysen Hayes notched six points, five rebounds, and two blocks.
The two teams traded four-point swings to begin the contest before the Knights went on a 13-2 run as Carleton converted on 6-of its first-7 shot attempts on the way to constructing an early 17-6 advantage with 12:53 to play. The hosts dominated the paint, scoring 14-of their first-17 points on the inside and finishing with a 46-24 edge on points in the paint.
The Knights still held a 27-17 lead with 7:44 remaining in the opening stanza, but coming out of a timeout, the Auggies canned back-to-back triples to kick off an 11-0 spurt that allowed the visitors to claim a their first of the ballgame, 28-27 at the 5:16 mark.
Carleton was able to carry a narrow 33-31 lead into the break. Stafford, who averaged 17 points per game for the Auggies, was limited to just six first-half points. Koelling and Drake led the hosts across the first 20 minutes with nine apiece on a combined 7-of-10 shooting.
Augsburg inched ahead 43-42 after Stafford hit a pair of free throws at the 12:12 mark of the second half, but a pull-up 3-pointer by Harris provided the spark for a back-breaking 21-5 Knights' run, allowing them to gain a 63-48 edge with 4:46 of game time left. Ultimately, the hosts outscored the visitors 31-14 over the final 12:12.
As a team, the Knights shot a combined 29-of-59 (49.2 percent) from the field despite a 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) showing from distance. while also going 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) from the charity stripe.
With Stafford unable to get on track due to Koelling's defensive effort, Will Blascziek and Elias Battala led the visitors with 14 points each as the Auggies shot 20-of-55 (36.4 percent) from the field, 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from 3-point range, and 11-of-16 (68.8 percent) from the free throw line.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton heads to No. 1 seed Gustavus for a 5:00 p.m. game on Thursday, Feb. 27 in St. Peter, Minn. The Knights bested the then No. 21-ranked Gusties 73-61 last week in Northfield six days ago. This is the third straight year that these teams will play in the postseason and the second consecutive time that they meet in the semifinals. Last year's clash went to double-overtime, with Gustavus winning 124-116 in the highest-scoring game in MIAC Playoff history.