MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's basketball team could not overcome a blistering-hot shooting display from Augsburg University in the first half of a 75-67 road loss on Saturday afternoon at Si Melby Hall.

Augsburg (8-8, 4-3 MIAC) shot 80.8 percent (21-for-26) from the field in a 50-point first half, but St. Olaf (1-15, 0-7 MIAC) almost kept pace to trail by just nine at the break. Both teams cooled off significantly in the second half, as the Oles outscored the Auggies by one, 26-25, but it wasn't enough to overturn the nine-point deficit.

Junior Kobe Kirk continued his climb up St. Olaf's all-time scoring list, jumping up four spots to No. 19 with 1,059 points with a team-best 22-point performance. Kirk was 7-for-15 from the field, 2-for-4 from three-point range, and 6-for-7 at the free-throw line in his fifth 20-point effort of the season and the 19th of his career. He also had four blocked shots, two steals, two rebounds, and two assists.

Senior Addison Metcalf joined Kirk in double figures with 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting overall, including going 4-for-5 from three-point range in 17 minutes before fouling out. First year Rex Lamb came off the bench to knock down a pair of three-pointers while scoring a season-high eight points. Sophomore Chris Willis dished out a career-high seven assists, as the Oles had assists on 18 of their 23 made field goals.

Both teams shot the lights out over the first eight-plus minutes, as St. Olaf started 8-for-9 from the field and Augsburg started 9-for-10. Metcalf made his first four three-pointers in the opening 8:10 to lead St. Olaf to a 24-22 lead before picking up his second foul.

First year Luther Tostrud went 3-for-3 at the free-throw line to give the Oles their largest lead of the game at 27-22 with 10:51 to go in the half before the Auggies went on a 9-0 run over a three-minute stretch to grab a four-point lead. Augsburg built a pair of 10-point leads in the final 2:10 of the half before carrying a 50-41 lead into the break after getting 28 points from its bench in the opening 20 minutes.

In the second half, Augsburg led by between seven and 12 points until Kirk scored four points in a mini 6-0 run for St. Olaf that made it a 65-59 game with 4:01 remaining. That was as close as the Oles got, however, as the Auggies held St. Olaf to 30.6 percent (11-for-36) shooting in the second half. St. Olaf grabbed 16 offensive rebounds in the game but led just 10-7 on second-chance points.

The Oles will play their second consecutive road game on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 5:30 p.m. with a trip to Winona to face Saint Mary's University.