Box Score
Augustana's defensive pressure and transition play propelled the Vikings to an 85-63 win over Concordia University, St. Paul, Saturday night in the NSIC Holiday Hoopsfest at the Sioux Falls Arena.
Augustana improved to 4-0 on the season while Concordia slipped to 2-1.
Augustana played stingy defense in the first half, limiting Concordia to 31 percent shooting and forcing 11 turnovers. The strong defense allowed the Vikings to crank up their transition game. In the first half, Augustana had 15 points off turnovers and had 12 fast break points. Meanwhile, CU scored only 4 points off turnovers and had 0 fast break points.
With the Vikings leading 19-17 with 10:10 to play in the first half, Augustana outscored the Golden Bears 24-3 over the next 7 minutes to open up a 43-20 advantage.
During that time, Concordia managed just 1 field goal, a 3-point play by Craig Heiman at 7:22. CU's next field goal was a bucket by Heiman at the 3:07 mark.
In the meantime, Augustana scored 8 straight points to go up 27-17. Following Heiman's 3-point play, the Vikings reeled off 14 unanswered points.
Cody Schilling led the Vikings with 7 of his 11 first-half points during the barrage.
The Golden Bears found their shooting range at the end of the half to close within 47-27 at intermission.
Augustana shot nearly 46 percent (17 of 37) from the field and 11 of 15 from the free throw line in the first half. The only blemish was the fact that the Vikings made just 2 of 10 3-point field goals.
In addition, Augustana committed only 2 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Concordia shot 31 percent from the field, making 10 of 32 shots, including 2 of 9 shots behind the arc, and just 5 of 10 from the charity stripe.
Concordia regrouped at halftime and came out on fire in the second half. The Golden Bears rattled off the first 8 points of the period to trim the deficit to 47-35 with just over 18 minutes to play in the game.
CU eventually pulled within 10 points at 51-41 with 14 minutes to play, but an 8-0 run by the Vikings pushed the lead back to 18 at 59-41 with 12:08 to play. Augustana led by at least 16 points the rest of the game.
Augustana maintained its strong shooting in the second half as the Vikings finished the game shooting 45 percent (32 of 71) from the field. Concordia warmed up in the second half, making 45 percent in the second period to finish at 38 percent for the game.
The Vikings also won the rebounding and turnover battles. Augustana outrebounded Concordia 43-40 and the Vikings committed half as many turnovers, 10, compared to 20 for the Golden Bears.
Schilling led three Vikings in double figures with 17 points. Meanwhile,
David Foster chipped in with 17 points, including 10 in the first half, and Kenny Brown scored 10 points off the bench.
Derrick De Zeeuw was the game's top rebounder, matching his career high with 9 boards
Craig Heiman led all scorers with 21 points for CU. He was the only Golden Bear in double figures.
Augustana will wrap up the Hoopsfest Sunday night when the Vikings take on St. Cloud State in an 8 p.m. game at the Sioux Falls Arena.
