Box Score It was quite a rally Wednesday night for the Hamline men's basketball team. The Pipers trailed by 13 points at halftime at Augsburg and were still down by a dozen with three minutes left in the game. But when Jay Betts sunk a layup with 12 seconds left in regulation time, HU had come all the way back to tie the Auggies 89-89. Unfortunately, Augsburg got the last word, sinking a pair of free throws with seven seconds left. When  a last gasp three-pointer didn't fall, Hamline ended up with a 91-89 loss at Si Melby Hall. 

Zach Smith had a big night with a team high 25 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Betts and Isaac Brooks also made double figures with 15 points apiece. Brooks and Ethan Scheuring shared rebounding honors with seven.

The Pipers got off to a rocky start, tailing 10-2 after four and a half minutes of play. They steadied the course, moving within six at one point before going to the locker room down 46-33. The Auggies kept HU at arm's length most of the second half, leading 84-72 with 4:01 on the clock. Smith, however, triggered a rally with a three point play as HU scored eight straight points to make it 84-80. Later, Connor Knutson drilled a three-pointer to cut the margin to 88-85 with 35 seconds left. A turnover and a pair of Smith free throws made it 88-87 with 27 seconds left. Augsburg made one free throw and HU took the ball up court, ending in the Betts layup that tied the game for the last time. 

Smith saw his streak of consecutive free throws made end at 39 with a miss in the second half. He finished the night 9-for-10 from the line and continues to lead the conference with a .935 percentage (87-93). He is third in the league in points (314) and points per game (18.5). 

Hamline is now 10-7 overall. Their 7-5 MIAC mark places them in a tie for fourth place with Concordia, a half-game behind St. John's (8-3). Right ont heir backs is Augsburg and Carleton, who both now stand 6-6. The latter team is significant because that is Hamline's next foe. The Knights will visit Hutton Arena this Saturday in the second game of men's-women's doubleheader. Game time is listed at 3:00 p.m.