Box Score
Augustana used a strong second half shooting performance to pull away from Wayne State and pick up a 77-64 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory Saturday night at the Elmen Center.
Augustana improved to 7-1 overall and 2-1 in the NSIC, while Wayne State slipped to 2-6 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
The Vikings, who trailed 34-32 at halftime, came out of the gates clicking on all cylinders in the second half. A quick bucket by Lee Stephens and a 3-pointer by Nathan Truex ignited a 17-8 run in the first 5 minutes of the second half to help the Vikings open up a 49-42 lead.
Following a basket by WSC's Brian Metz, the Vikings scored 7 unanswered points, including 5 from Kenny Brown to push the lead to double figures at 56-44 with 12:23 left in the game. Moments later, Augustana's Cody Schilling scored on three straight possessions and Jordan Dalton knocked down a trey to give Augie its largest advantage of the game at 67-51 with 8:37 remaining in the contest.
The Vikings led by at least 11 points the rest of the game.
In the second half, Augustana made 19 of 32 field goal attempts for 59 percent. The Vikings also connected on 4 of 9 shots behind the 3-point line. That was enough to offset Wayne State, which shot 54.5 percent from the field in the second half, making 12 of 22 shots.
For the game, Augustana shot 48.5 percent (32 of 66) from the floor and 40 percent (8 of 20) from 3-point range. On the other hand, Wayne State shot a blistering 60 percent (24 of 40) from the field and outscored the Vikings 15-5 from the free throw line. However, WSC made just 1 3-pointer.
While Augustana outrebounded the Wildcats 27-25, a big difference came in the turnover category. Augustana turned the ball over 12 times, while WSC committed 23 turnovers, 14 of which were the result of Augustana steals. The Vikings converted those turnovers into 28 points.
Augustana had several chances in the first half to break the game open, but WSC's shooting kept the Wildcats in the contest. Augustana led 14-9 with 12:34 left in the half, but the Wildcats scored four straight points to make it a 14-13 game.
Later in the half, Augustana went on a 10-4 run to open up a 30-25 lead with 3:34 on the clock. But WSC managed to end the half with a 9-2 run to take a 34-32 halftime lead.
Schilling led four Vikings in double figures with 20 points, his fourth 20-point effort in eight games this year. He also grabbed a team-high 5 rebounds and dished out 5 assists. David Foster scored 14 points, while Dalton added 12 points, 5 assists and 4 steals. Stephens netted 10 points, including 8 in the second half.
Brian Metz led all scorers with 22 points on 10 of 11 shooting. Brad Starken added 13 points while Jason Jensen tossed in 10 points.
Augustana returns to the court on Thursday night when the Vikings take on South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in a non-conference game at 7 p.m. in Elmen Center.
