Forward Connor Bair leaps in the air to collect a pass in the final seconds of the game. Bair scored 28 points on Friday, Feb. 9. (Jacob Schneider/TommieMedia)
The St. Thomas men’s basketball team fell to the Augsburg Auggies 88-86 Saturday afternoon at Schoenecker Arena, putting the Tommies’ twenty-one game win streak to bed.
The Tommies’ (12-1 MIAC, 21-2 overall) second half surge fell short, as the Augsburg (13-5 MIAC, 17-6 overall) defense stood strong to close out the game.
“Augsburg is an excellent team, and it was a battle on the court, but at the end of the day they made more shots than we did,” coach John Tauer said. “I’m proud of how the kids battled. It was a great college basketball game.”
The team recognized seniors Michael Hannon, GT Johnson and Connor Bair in their Senior Night celebration.
Coach Tauer praised the trio for their performances on the court throughout the season and on this night especially.
Bair ended his night with a double-double, scoring 28 points and collecting 11 rebounds while Hannon scored 15. Johnson put on a big defensive performance, guarding one of the nation’s top scorers: Augsburg’s Booker Coplin.
Coplin was held to 21 points by the Tommies, five points less than his average throughout the season.
“It hurts to come out here and lose on Senior day, but when we look back at our time in this gym we can look at a lot of great memories,” Hannon said. “Today was a team effort.”
The Tommies play two more matches on the road this season, facing off against St. John’s and St. Mary’s to close out the regular season.
Jacob Schneider can be reached at schn6923@stthomas.edu.