Box Score
Augustana held Northern State without a field goal, and only 5 points total, over the final 10 minutes of the game to pull away for a 71-57 victory in front of a season-high crowd of 4,014 Saturday night at the Elmen Center.
Augustana improved to 18-7 overall and 12-6 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, while Northern State fell to 18-7 overall and 11-7 in the NSIC.
Neither team led by more than 4 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. In fact, there were 7 lead changes and 4 ties during that stretch. Then at the 10:02 mark, NSU's Kevin Ratsch hit a jumper to put the Wolves in front 52-50. It was Northern State's last basket of the contest.
Lee Stephens, who finished with 17 points, ignited the Vikings' rally. He hit a 3-pointer from the left corner, just his third trey of the season, and then added a pair of baskets inside to spark Augie on a 9-2 run that gave the Vikings the lead for good at 59-54 with 7 minutes to play.
Robert Thomas made 2 free throws to make it a 3-point game, 59-56, but the Vikings'
David Foster hit a jumper and
Marques Blank drained 2 buckets to push the advantage to 65-56 with just under 4 minutes on the clock.
Northern State's final points came from Mitch Boeck, who made 1 of 2 free throws at the 2:33 mark. Augustana closed out the game by making 6 of 10 free throws to gain the regular season sweep of their in-state rivals.
All told, NSU missed its last 12 shots from the field and committed 4 turnovers.
On the other hand, Augustana shot 50 percent from the field in the second half, making 13 of 26 shots. The Vikings also made 9 of 14 free throws. For the game, Augustana shot 49 percent and committed just 10 turnovers. Conversely, NSU shot 35 percent and turned the ball over 15 times.
In the first half, Northern State used its 3-point shooting to forge a 26-18 lead with 9:50 left in the period. The Wolves made 6 of 10 shots behind the arc in the first half.
But Augustana chipped away at the lead. The Vikings outscored the Wolves 13-1 over the next 7:27 to take a 31-27 lead at the 2:33 mark.
Eric Krogman scored 6 of his 10-first half points to spark the Vikings, while Stevens added a pair of baskets.
Ratsch scored the next 4 points to tie the game at 31-31, but
Marques Blank made a pair of free throws with 26 seconds remaining to give the Vikings a 33-31 lead at halftime.
Blank joined Stevens in double figures with a team-high 18 points. The senior point guard also had 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and 0 turnovers. Krogman was the third Viking in double figures with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Ratsch led all scorers with 21 points, while Boeck finished with 18. No other NSU player had more than 6 points.
Augustana plays its final home game of the regular season on Wednesday when the Vikings tanke on Minnesota State University, Mankato at 8 p.m. in the Elmen Center. The Vikings are currently in a three-way tie for fourth place in the league standings with St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth. The three teams trail Minnesota State by 1 game.
