BOX SCORE
MANKATO, Minn. - Minnesota State shot 54.0 percent--including 75.0 percent in the second half--en route to posting an 83-67 victory over Augustana Saturday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball in Mankato, Minn.
MSU moves to 6-0 (2-0 NSIC), while Augustana drops to 3-2 (0-2 NSIC).
The Mavericks turned a five-point half time lead into a 16-point advantage by going 18 of 24 from the floor in the second half.
Jefferson Mason's 24 points led MSU.
Cameron McCaffrey scored 18 points and handed out five assists for the Vikings. He was the only Augustana player to reach double figures.
Trevor Hass added eight points on 6 of 6 shooting from the charity stripe.
Derrick De Zeeuw grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for Augustana.
The Mavericks led for much of the first half, taking their largest lead at the 4:21 mark after Cameron Hodges, who finished with 15 points, capitalized on a Viking turnover with an easy bucket to put his team ahead 24-17.
MSU led 29-24 at the break.
The Maverick offense hit its stride to open the second half, orchestrating a 12-0 run a few minutes in, allowing MSU to take a 21-point lead at 54-33 with 11:47 remaining.
The 21-point advantage was as large of a lead the Mavericks would have all night. They led by 21 on two additional occasions in the second half, comfortably coasting into the game's stretch run sporting a double-figure lead.
Augustana shot 40.4 percent in the loss. The Vikings were 20 of 21 from the free throw line.
It was also a balanced contest on the boards as Augustana held a 31-29 edge in the category.
The difference, though, seemed to be MSU's precision shooting.
Augustana will look for its first conference win next weekend when the Vikings host U-Mary and Northern State.
