Box ScoreIn a battle of the top 2 teams in the North Central Conference, Minnesota State University, Mankato knocked off Augustana 91-78 Saturday night before a season-high 3,305 fans at the Elmen Center.
The loss drops the Vikings to 15-5 overall and 3-2 in the NCC, while Minnesota State maintained its lead in NCC standings at 4-0 with an overall record of 15-4.
The Mavericks got off to a fast start. With the score tied 3-3 after 1 minute of play, MSU then went on a 21-4 run to open up a 24-7 lead with 13:29 to play in the first half. The Mavericks did most of their damage from behind the arc as they nailed 5 3-pointers during the outburst.
But Augustana didn't panic. The Vikings later trailed 33-18 with 7 minutes left in the half before scoring 6 unanswered points to cut the deficit to single digits at 33-24 with 5:38 remaining in the half.
Minnesota State pushed the lead back to 14, 38-24, but the Vikings quickly cut the margin in half with a 7-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by
David Foster to make the score 38-31 with just over 3 minutes left before halftime.
The Vikings were able to pull within 7 points two more times before MSU took a 49-38 lead into intermission.
Another quick start coming out of the locker room again gave MSU some momentum. The Mavericks scored the first 5 points of half to increase their lead to 54-38 with 17:41 left in the game.
Once again, Augustana weathered the storm. Behind 7 points by
Corey McIntosh, who led all scorers with 33 points, the Vikings went on a 9-2 run to pull within single digits at 56-47 with 15:41 on the clock.
The lead hovered between 8 and 12 points for the next 9 minutes. Then with MSU holding a 81-68 advantage, Augustana scored 7 straight points to make it a 6-point game at 81-75 with 4:17 remaining.
Following a defensive stop, the Vikings had a chance to cut into the lead some more, however, McIntosh misfired on a jump shot with just over 3 minutes to play.
Two minutes later Augie had a chance to make it a 4-point game. Trailing 85-78, McIntosh had a good look at a 3-pointer, but it rimmed out and MSU grabbed the rebound with 1:18 remaining. The Mavericks then made 6 of 8 free throws in the final minute to secure the win.
Augustana shot just 40 percent (26 of 65) from the field for the game, while MSU shot 54.5 percent (30 of 55), including a 12-for-18 effort from 3-point range. Augie, meanwhile, connected on just 5 of 15 3-pointers.
Marques Blank joined McIntosh in double figures with 10 points. Foster and
Mike Klepatz added 9 points apiece.
Jake Morrow and Atila Santos each poured in 19 points for MSU. Jadee Jones and Preston Whitaker added 14 and 12 points, respectively. Santos led all rebounders with 15.
Augustana will try to rebound from the setback when the Vikings entertain Nebraska-Omaha on Thursday in an 8 p.m. matchup at the Elmen Center.
