Box Score One guy did his magic in the first half. The other went on a tear in the second stanza. Connor Knutson and TC Robinson (pictured) had big nights for Hamline, which rallied from a big deficit but couldn't quite catch Augsburg, falling 83-73 in a men's basketball game at Hutton Arena. 

Knutson continued his excellent play with 18 points, 12 of which came in the first half. The freshman, who has been in double figures in scoring in 10 of his last 11 games, also had a team high six rebounds. Robinson nearly topped that with a career best 17 points, 11 of which came in the last 20 minutes of play. Bret Lukes added 13 for the Pipers, who dropped to 4-15 overall, 2-12 in the MIAC. 

It was an uphill climb all night for HU. The Auggies scored the game's first six points and led by 16 before Robinson and Knutson connected on three-pointers to end the half and cut the lead to 39-29. 

Hamline picked up on the late first half surge at the start of the second session. Herbert Tarpeh's layup made it 42-38 with 17:25 to play. But that was as close as Hamline could get as the Auggies, who are in tight contention for a possible playoff spot, scored seven of the next nine points. Hamline shot 46.9 per cent for the night and held the Auggies even on the boards at 30 each. 

It was the start of a busy stretch that has Hamline playing five games in a 10-day period. HU hosts St. Thomas Saturday at Hutton Arena. Game time is 1:00 p.m.