Box Score
The No. 23 Augustana men's basketball team handed No. 3 Minnesota State University, Mankato, its first loss of the season in an 83-76 nailbiter Saturday night. The Vikings beat the Mavericks 83-76 in front of a crowd of 2,963 at the Elmen Center.
Augustana improves to 16-2 overall and 9-2 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with the win. The loss drops MSU to 17-1 and 10-1 in the conference.
MSU started the game off by scoring two buckets in the first two minutes, but Augie quickly answered with a 3-pointer by sophomore guard
Cody Schilling and a putback by sophomore center Derrick DeZeeuw to go up 5-4 at the 16:08 mark.
The Mavericks responded with two more buckets, but Augie scored seven unanswered points, including a long tre by freshman guard
Cameron McCaffrey. A four-point run by the Mavericks allowed them to take back the lead, 13-12 with 10:31 to play.
A shot by senior guard
Jordan Dalton was blocked, but ended up counting after MSU was called for goaltending. Augie was then able to build a three-point lead at 20-17 when senior guard
David Foster scored on a fastbreak layup with 7:18 on the clock.
The Mavericks then outscored the Vikings 11-2 in the next five minutes, and with 2:28 to play in the half, held a 28-22 lead.
Augie ended the half by scoring eight unanswered points, regaining a 30-28 lead at the break.
The Vikings were 37.9 percent (11 of 29) from the field in the first half and were 40 percent (4 of 10) from behind the arc. The Mavericks shot 35.7 percent (10 of 28) and made no 3-pointers on seven attempts.
MSU played solid defense in the first half, collecting three steals and four blocks.
The second half stayed close the entire way, with the teams trading leads for the first 3:12. The Mavericks were able to put together two scoring possessions, and took a 40-36 lead at the 16:08 mark. MSU's senior center Travis Nelson scored nine of Maverick's first 12 points in the second half.
A bucket by Schilling plus a 3-pointer by Foster regained the Viking's the lead, but four more points from Nelson gave the Mavericks a 44-43 advantage with 13:52 to play.
Augie made five of four free throws in the next two minutes without allowing the Mavericks to score. Senior guard
Elliot Thomas was 4 of 4 from the charity stripe in that stretch, helping the Vikings to retake the lead 48-44.
A basket by Nelson at 8:41 tied the score at 52-52, with Nelson scoring the last 12 points for the Mavericks. Senior guard Jefferson Mason was fouled on a layup with 8:10 remaining. The basket counted and the made free throw after gained MSU a 55-52 lead.
Augie took a 59-55 lead with 6:39 to play by scoring seven unanswered points, capped off by an impressive fight by DeZeeuw, who grabbed an offensive rebound underneath a congested basket and scored a layup.
The Vikings held the lead until the 4:23 mark, when MSU's Marcus Hill scored back-to-back buckets to give the Mavericks a 64-63 lead.
DeZeeuw scored a layup at 3:52, but a 3-pointer by Hill gave the Mavericks a two-point lead and seemed to deflate the Viking crowd. They weren't deflated for long however, as Foster sank a tre to give Augie a 68-67 lead with 3:22 to play.
MSU's senior guard Jermaine Davis was fouled while driving to the basket, but made only one of two free throws, allowing Augie to take the 70-68 lead with a jumper by Schilling with 2:37 remaining.
Mason was fouled on the next possession, but missed both of his free throws, and DeZeeuw's putback gave Augie a 72-68 lead with 1:11 on the clock.
A basket by Hill moved the Mavericks closer, but Dalton and
Elliot Thomas were fouled on back-to-back possessions, each sinking their two free throws. With 47 seconds to play, Augie held the lead, 76-70.
Junior guard Joe Drapcho was fouled by Foster while shooting a three, and made just two of the free throws with 42 seconds to play, allowing Augie to hold on to its lead 76-72.
Dalton was fouled at with 40 seconds left and only made one of the two free throws before Davis was fouled while driving to the basket and made both free shots to make the score 77-74 in favor of the Vikings with 36 seconds remaining.
The Mavericks fouled in desperation, but would only score two more points as the Vikings made six straight free throws to end the game.
Augie shot 49.1 percent (26 of 53) from the field and was 50 percent (7 of 14) from 3-point range. In contrast, the Mavericks shot 46.6 percent (27 of 58) but just 7.1 percent (1 of 14) from behing the arc.
Augie was led offensively by Schilling, who scored 22 points and dished out 5 assists for the Vikings. Foster added 18 points while Dalton contributed 13.
Thomas was clutch for the Vikings from the charity stripe, going a perfect 8 of 8 for the game.
Nelson led all scorers with 23 points and Hill added 14 points. Mason recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The Vikings will be on the road next weekend as they take on Concordia-St. Paul on Friday at 8 p.m. before travelling to St. Cloud State for a 6 p.m. matchup.
