Box ScoreAugustana put together a strong all-around performance to knock off Concordia-St. Paul 72-66 Thursday night at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn.
The Vikings improved to 9-3 on the season as they snapped a 2-game losing skid. The triumph was Augie's first-ever win at the Gangelhoff Center. Concordia-St. Paul, meanwhile, fell to 7-4 on the season and 6-2 at home.
Augustana closed out the first half in strong fashion. Trailing 26-24 with 3 minutes left in the half, Augustana scored the final 8 points of the stanza to take a 32-26 lead into the locker room. The Vikings forced 3 missed shots and a turnover on CU's final 4 possessions of the period.
The Vikings never trailed in the second half. Augustana pushed its lead to 10 at 44-34 with just over 16 minutes to play in the game before the Golden Bears went on an 8-0 run to trim the margin to 2 at 44-42 with 12:46 to play.
But Augie's
Corey McIntosh answered with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to highlight a 7-1 run that increased the lead to 8 points at 51-43 at the 10-minute mark.
The Vikings led by at least 5 points the rest of the game.
McIntosh led 3 Vikings in double figures with 15 points.
David Foster added 14 points, while
Mike Klepatz came off the bench to score 11 points.
The Vikings controlled some other statistics as well. Augie outrebounded the Golden Bears 43-33 and also outshot the hosts. The Vikings shot 42 percent (23-for-55) from the field, while limiting Concordia-St. Paul to 34 percent (21-for-61) shooting on their home court.
Matt Heiman kept the Golden Bears in the game by scoring a career-high 31 points. Matt Cadwell joined him in double figures with 12 points.
Augustana will now take a week off for the Christmas holiday before returning to the court on December 27-28 at home in the Sanford Holiday Classic. The Vikings play Mary on December 27 and Northern Michigan on December 28. Both games tip off at 8 p.m. in the Elmen Center.
