Box Score
The Augustana men's basketball team rang in 2010 with a tough 80-73 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference road win over Bemidji State Saturday night in Bemidji, Minn.
The Vikings, ranked No. 24 in the latest NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, improved to 10-1 on the season with their fifth-straight win. They are also 3-1 in the NSIC. Meanwhile, Bemidji State dropped to 5-6 on the year and 2-3 in the NSIC.
Augustana, playing its first road game of the season, fell behind early in the contest, but a strong run to close out the first half and start the second half proved to be the turning points in the game.
Bemidji State led by 8 points, its largest lead of the game, at 16-8 with 12:34 left in the first half. But Augustana's
Elliot Thomas and
Lee Stephens rallied the Vikings. Thomas scored 8 points and Stephens scored 6 points during a 15-7 run that tied the score at 23-23 with 6:26 to play in the half.
BSU pushed the lead back to 7 points at 32-25 thanks to a 3-pointer by Seth Haake with 4:42 on the clock. However, the Vikings closed out the half with a 12-2 run, capped by a buzzer-beating basket by
Cameron McCaffrey to give Augustana a 37-34 halftime lead.
Augustana carried the momentum into the second half. The Vikings outscored the Beavers 11-4 in the first 4:24 of the second half to take their largest lead of the game at 48-38 with 14:36 left in the contest.
Three minutes later, with Augustana holding a 55-45 advantage, Bemidji State made a charge, going on a 16-8 run to close the gap to 63-61 with 6:44 to play in the game. However, Augustana's
Cody Schilling, who finished with a team-high 20 points, halted the rally with 2 free throws and a layup on the Vikings' next 2 possessions to push the lead back to 6 at 69-63 with just under 4 minutes on the clock.
Haake, who netted a game-high 24 points, pulled BSU within 3 points after making 3 out of 4 free throws, making the score 69-66 with 2:40 to play, but again Stephens and Thomas answered for the Vikings. Stephens made a jumper and Thomas knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:39 to play to extend the lead to 8 points, 74-66.
From there, the Vikings made 6 out of 8 free throws in the final minute to stave off the Beavers. Schilling was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe down the stretch.
For Schilling, it was his fifth 20-point game of the season. Joining him in double figures were McCaffrey with 15 points off the bench, Stephens with 12 points and Thomas with a season-high 11 points off the bench. Thomas also made a season-high 3 3-point baskets.
Augustana's depth proved to be key in the game as the Viking bench outscored Bemidji State 36-13.
Besides Haake, Langce Rongstad scored 16 points for BSU, while David Berthene added 10 points off the bench.
While both teams shot just under 48 percent from the field, Augustana managed to outrebound the Beavers 36-33. The Vikings also committed only 8 turnovers, while BSU turned the ball over 12 times.
Augustana concludes its weekend road trip on Sunday as the Vikings travel to Duluth, Minn., to face Minnesota Duluth in a 4 p.m. contest.
