Box Score
Marques Blank nailed three late three-pointers to help secure Augustana's 10th conference win as the Vikings came away with a 78-61 victory over Upper Iowa (UIU) Friday in Fayette, Iowa.
The Vikings improved to 16-6 on the season and 10-5 in the NSIC. Upper Iowa fell to 4-19 and 3-13 in the conference.
The Vikings shot 54.9 percent (28-of-51) on the night while holding the Peacocks to 35.3 percent (18-of-51) from the field. The Vikings also used their frontcourt size advantage to outrebound UIU 32 to 29.
Blank led the Vikings with 21 points on the night, shooting 7-of-8 from the field, including making all five of his three-point field goal attempts.
Despite the Vikings pushing the lead out to 18 points midway through the 2nd half, the hometown Peacocks scrapped their way back into contention, trimming the lead to eight with 5:47 remaining. With the shot clock winding down, Blank took a pass from
David Foster and nailed a deep three-pointer to push the lead back to 11. Upper Iowa's Matt Lesan, who led all scorers with 23 points, made two of his 13 free throws to trim the lead to seven with just under four minutes to play.
Eric Krogman pushed the lead back to eight with a made free throw at the 3:33 mark, and after a UIU miss at the other end, Blank again nailed a three pointer to push the lead back to 11. Blank added another shot-clock buzzer-beating three pointer, and Augustana picked up its third victory in its last four games.
Augie came off of the bus ready to play. The Vikings hit their first four shots to open an 11-2 lead 2:13 into the game on made three-pointers by Blank, Krogman and Foster and a layup by
Lee Stephens.
However, UIU would settle in and spark a comeback of its own. A 15-7 run, consisting of 8 points by Lesan and 7 points by Brad Arnold, would cut the lead to one at 18-17 midway through the first half.
Cody Schilling led the first half scoring for Augie with 10 points to help the Vikings build the lead back to double digits and go to the halftime break up 42-32.
Schilling finished with 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting, while Foster added 11 and 4 rebounds. Arnold and Keith Steffeck each contributed 11 for the Peacocks.
The Vikings conclude their road trip with a matchup at Winona State Saturday night in Winona, Minn. The men's game will begin after the conclusion of the women's game, which begins at 6 p.m.
