SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — The Randolph College men's basketball team led by double figures in the second half but couldn't hang on as the WildCats dropped a non-conference contest to Augsburg College (MN) 64-55 in their first day of action from the Puerto Rico Tournament. 

The WildCats (6-4) scored the first three points of the game to take an early lead. After the Auggies (6-3) hit a three pointer, Randolph went on a 14-2 run thanks to a putback by senior Derrick Woods-Morrow (Greensboro, NC/NE Guilford) . The WildCats continued to build onto the lead, pushing the edge up to 16 points after a three-pointer by Mike Ehilegbu (Raleigh, NC/Ravenscroft). 

Augsburg trimmed the lead down to 10 points with 2:11 left after a pair of free throws by Tyler Schmidt, but Randolph would take a 13-point lead into the halftime intermission. The Auggies would roar out of the gate in the second stanza, going on a 14-2 run to take their first lead at 35-34 on an Andy Grzesiak layup. 

Junior Colton Hunt (Whitter, NC/Smoky Mountain) put the WildCats back on top with a trifecta seconds after that, but AC scored the game's next eight points to take a six-point lead at 43-37. Randolph would not go away though, retaking a two-point edge 47-45 on a three-pointer by first-year Zach Desgain (Richmond, VA/J.R. Tucker) . 

With the score tied at 47 with 4:12 left, the Auggies would put together another 14-2 run down to stretch to pull away and earn the victory. Junior Chris Battaglia (Smithfield, VA/Portsmouth) had a near double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Hunt and Woods-Morrow each added 10 apiece. Desgain and Ehilegbu each finished with eight points for Randolph, which shot 38.8 percent (18-49) from the field. 

The Auggies were paced by the game-high 23 points from Schmidt, who hit four-of-six from downtown while making 11-of-12 from the line. Grzeniak also had 12 points and a team-best six rebounds, as Augsburg shot 45.5 percent overall and 40 percent from downtown. The difference was three-point shooting, as AC scored nine more points off threes than Randolph. 

The WildCats return to action in Puerto Rico tomorrow afternoon at 5 p.m. as they battle Hood College (MD) in more non-conference action.