Box Score
Augustana used a big first-half run to gain the upper hand and the Vikings never look back as they routed the University of Sioux Falls 84-64 Wednesday night in the Third Annual Prairie Spirit Charitable Challenge at the Sioux Falls Arena.
The game drew 3,513 fans and raised $7,336 for Cure Kids Cancer.
Augustana improved to 2-0 on the season as the Vikings beat the Cougars for the eighth straight time and for the 15th time in the last 16 meetings. USF, meanwhile, slipped to 5-2 after seeing its five-game winning streak snapped.
Both teams struggled from the field in the opening minutes before the Vikings began to find their shooting touch. Trailing 5-3, Augustana scored 7 straight points to open up a 10-5 lead with just under 14 minutes to go in the half.
Moments later, Augustana began to take control of the game. Leading 12-9, the Vikings went on a 17-3 outburst which included a streak of 11 unanswered points to seize a 29-12 advantage with 7:20 remaining in the half.
David Foster came off the bench to spark the Vikings, scoring 6 of his 8 first-half points in a 1-minute stretch.
Cameron McCaffrey also scored 6 points in the spurt, knocking down a 3-pointer and converting a traditional 3-point play.
McCaffrey and
Cody Schilling gave the Vikings their biggest lead of the period with 3 minutes left on the clock when the buried back-to-back treys to push the Augie advantage to 40-19 with 2:45 to play in the half.
Sioux Falls ended the half strong, scoring the final 5 points to close the gap to 40-24 at intermission.
Augustana shot 40 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, making 14 of 35 field goals. Meanwhile, USF shot just 28.6 percent, connecting on 10 of 35 attempts. While Augustana mad 3 of 8 shots from 3-point range, USF was only 2 of 11.
Sioux Falls maintained its momentum early in the second half. After
Derrick De Zeeuw scored on a putback to increase the Augie lead to 42-24, the Cougars reeled off 8 straight points to pull within 10 points at 42-32 with 16:40 to play in the game.
But Augustana weathered the storm, answering with a 15-6 run to push the lead to 19 at 57-38 with 12:10 on the clock.
Following a bucket by USF's Bryan Whitesel, the Vikings scored 7 of the next 10 points to stretch their lead to 64-43 with just under 10 minutes to play in the contest. Augustana led by at least 17 points the rest of the game.
Schilling led all scorers with 23 points on 8 of 18 shooting. He picked up the double-double by grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds. McCaffrey and Foster joined Schilling in double figures. McCaffrey scored a career-high 16 points off the bench, while Foster finished with 12.
As a team, Augustana shot 47 percent from the field for the game, including 41 percent (7 of 17) from 3-point range. The Vikings committed just 11 turnovers, including only 4 in the first half.
Matt Malloy led three USF players in double figures with 18 points. Jack Ridgway added 12 points, while Thomas Frames had 10.
The Cougars shot 36 percent from the field for the game, but 30.4 percent from behind the arc.
Augustana returns to action on Tuesday when the Vikings entertain Montana State-Billings in a 7 p.m. game at the Elmen Center.
