BOX SCORE
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -
Cameron McCaffrey scored a game-high 20 points to lead Augustana to a 75-65 win over Jamestown Saturday night in the Vikings' season opener in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Augustana moves to 1-0. The contest was an exhibition game for JC, which entered the game with a 3-1 record.
The Vikings also got 13 points from
Cody Schilling.
Derrick De Zeeuw was tops in the rebounding column for Augustana, grabbing six boards on the night.
Augustana forced 27 Jimmie turnovers in the win.
Augustana built itself a 14-point lead in the first half after orchestrating a 10-0 run just before the midway point. That surge was aided by a pair of three-point plays from
Eric Jorgensen and McCaffrey. The duo accounted for eight of the 10 points;
Yuriy Malashenko's bucket with 10:12 to go in the first half put the Vikings ahead 26-12.
The Vikings took advantage of a turnover-prone Jimmie squad to take as large as a 19-point lead twice just before intermission.
Adam Peterka's basket with 1:34 left gave Augustana a 40-21 advantage, while two makes from the free throw line from Jorgensen made it a 42-23 game 20 seconds later.
Augustana held a 16-point lead heading into the break. The Vikings were 10 of 10 from the charity stripe and shot 48.5 percent from the floor in the first half. Jorgensen's nine first-half points led Augustana.
JC turned the ball over 17 times in the first half.
The Viking offense, though, stalled a bit after the break. In the first nine minutes of the second half, Augustana managed just five points. The sudden lack of production allowed JC to scrape its way back to an eight-point deficit at 49-41 with 11 minutes left in the game.
And the Jimmies would linger, even after a free throw by
Leif Nomeland capped a 6-0 run by the Viking to go up 61-48.
JC took that difference and quickly trimmed it to single digits. The Jimmies trailed by just five with 2:27 remaining.
But from there, Schilling went to work, scoring six quick points to give his squad a nine-point lead with 42 seconds left.
Chad Hettermann sank a free with 10 second remaining--the result of a flagrant foul--to close scoring.
The Viking attack was a balanced one; Augustana got 29 points from its bench. Five different players had at least seven points. Jorgensen's nine points, all of which he scored in the first half, was a career high for the sophomore.
JC did manage to control the glass throughout, edging the Vikings in rebounds 37-31.
Chris Lawrence's 19 points and Travis Burley's 12 rebounds paced the Jimmies.
Augustana returns to action on Wednesday at the Prairie Spirit Charitable Challenge where the Vikings will face the University of Sioux Falls at 8 p.m. at the Sioux Falls Arena.
