Box Score
For the second night in a row, the Augustana men's basketball team shot under 40 percent from the field as the 22nd-ranked Vikings dropped an 86-63 decision to 15th-ranked Minnesota State University, Mankato, Saturday night at the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minn.
Augustana, which entered the night in a five-way tie for second place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference along with MSU, slipped to 13-5 overall and 7-4 in the NSIC. Minnesota State, meanwhile, improved to 17-4 overall and 8-3 in the NSIC.
Minnesota State got off to a fast start, racing out to a 9-0 lead in the first 2 minutes of the game. Meanwhile, Augustana missed its first 3 shots of the game.
The Vikings settled down with a 9-4 run to make the score 13-9 with 14:17 left in the half. However, that would be as close as the Vikings would get the rest of the game. The Mavericks pushed their lead to 11, 36-25, with 5:44 remaining before halftime, but then used a 9-2 rally to increase the lead to 18 points at 45-27 with 1:32 left in the half.
Augustana shot 41 percent in the first half, making 12 of 29 field goals. But it wasn't enough to keep pace with MSU, which made 19 of 33 (57.6 percent) shots from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.
The Vikings didn't fare much better in the second half as they shot 35 percent (13 of 37). For the game, Augie finished at 38 percent. MSU, meanwhile, finished at 52.5 percent.
Mike Klepatz was the only Viking to reach double figures in scoring. Klepatz came off the bench to score 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting. Eric Krogman and Marques Blank were next with 9 points.
Augustana did outrebound Minnesota State by a 38-37 margin. Derrick De Zeeuw grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds off the bench.
MSU was paced by Jesse Clark's 17 points. He was joined in double figures by Travis Nelson, who scored 16 points, and Mitch Gosson, who netted 15 points.
Augustana, which lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, will try to get back in the win column next Friday, January 30, when the Vikings play host to Concordia University, St. Paul, in an 8 p.m. contest.
