Box Score
For the second time in a month, Augustana knocked off Minnesota State University, Mankato, claiming a 72-71 hard-fought victory in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Wednesday night at the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minn. The Viking win snapped MSU's 16-game home winning streak.
Augustana, ranked 19th in the country, improved to 21-5 on the season and 14-5 in the NSIC. No. 5 Minnesota State slipped to 23-3 overall and 16-3 in the conference. More importantly, MSU fell into a tie for first place in the league standings with St. Cloud State with one game remaining to play on Saturday.
Once again, freshman
Cameron McCaffrey, provided the game-winning shot. McCaffrey, who sank the game-winning shot in a February 13 victory over Winona State, drove to the right baseline and hit a tough fade-away jumper with 9.1 seconds left on the clock.
Minnesota State pushed the ball upcourt. Jermain Davis missed a 10-foot jumper. Marcus Hill tracked down the rebound but his desperation 3-point shot was well off-target as the horn sounded.
Much like the first time the two teams met on January 23, a game Augie won 83-76, this game went back-and-forth. MSU led by 7 points early in the second half, but McCaffrey, who scored 14 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, led a 12-3 Viking run by scoring 8 points to give the visitors a 44-42 lead with 15:08 left on the clock.
Minnesota State answered with a 15-4 run of its own to take its largest lead of the game at 57-48 with 10 minutes remaining.
Minutes later, Augustana's
Jordan Dalton caught fire, scoring 8 straight points on 4 consecutive possessions to pull the Vikings within 61-60 with 5 minutes on the clock.
After MSU stretched the lead to 66-63, Augie's
Cody Schilling made 3 of 4 free throws to tie the score at 66-66 with just over 2 minutes remaining.
Travis Nelson made a free throw and a short jumper to give the hosts a 69-66 edge with 1:08 to play, but Derrick DeZeeuw scored on an offensive rebound to make it a 69-68 game with 39 seconds on the clock.
After an MSU turnover, DeZeeuw made 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game at 69-69. In the scramble for the rebound, Augie's
David Foster was fouled on the play. He too made the first shot but missed the second to give the Vikings a 70-69 advantage. Nelson was fouled on the rebound and calmly sank both free throws with 16.3 seconds remaining to set the stage for McCaffrey's heroics.
Augustana, which was held to just 28 points in the first half, scored 44 points in the second half. The Vikings made 17 of 30 field goal attempts (60.7 percent). That was enough to outscore MSU, which shot 42 percent (13 of 31) from the field in the second half.
Augustana also won the free throw battle. The Vikings made 13 of 18 charity tosses, while MSU converted 17 of 29.
Besides McCaffrey's 21 points, Foster and Schilling each scored 11 points, while Dalton finished with 10. He has scored in double figures 5 times this season, including both games against Minnesota State. Schilling also grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds.
Nelson paced the Mavericks with 19 points, while Jefferson Mason poured in 16. Hill and Davis scored 13 and 10 points respectively.
Augustana concludes the regular season on Saturday when the Vikings return home to face Minnesota Duluth in a 4:05 p.m. contest at the Elmen Center. The Vikings will try to tie the school record for most wins in a regular season at 22. The 1988-89 team went 22-6 in the regular season en route to a 23-7 final mark.
Saturday's game will also be the final regular season home game for the Vikings' four seniors – Dalton, Foster,
Lee Stephens and
Elliot Thomas.
