Box Score
With approximately 60 basketball alumni present for Alumni Reunion Weekend, the Augustana men's basketball team made a little history of its own as the Vikings defeated Minnesota Duluth 93-54 in the regular season finale Saturday at the Elmen Center.
The victory, played in front of a season-high 3,413 fans, improved the Vikings' record to 22-5 overall and 15-5 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The 22 wins ties the school record for wins in a regular season, matching the 1988-89 team. That squad went 22-6 in the regular season en route to a 23-7 final record.
Augustana wasted little time in seizing control of the game. The Vikings made 4 of their first 5 shots as they scored the first 9 points of the game. Meanwhile, Minnesota Duluth misfired on its first 5 attempts.
But the Vikings weren't finished there. After UMD scored its first bucket with 16:43 on the clock, Augustana went on a 27-15 run to lead 36-17 with just under 6 minutes to play in the half. The Augustana advantage eventually grew to 23 points, 46-23, with 1:20 remaining before intermission.
The Vikings finished the half shooting 53 percent from the field, making 17 of 32 shots. Meanwhile, UMD shot just 24 percent, making 10 of 41 shots. It was the lowest shooting percentage in a first half for a Viking opponent this season.
Things didn't get much better for the Bulldogs in the second half. UMD managed to cut the lead under 20 points early in the half, but the lead steadily grew during the remainder of the game. The Vikings' largest lead was the final margin of 39 points.
The game was the fitting regular season ending for the Vikings' four seniors -
Jordan Dalton,
David Foster,
Lee Stephens and
Elliot Thomas. Foster scored 18 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, while canning three 3-pointers to bring his career total to 188. Stephens notched 12 points and 8 boards, while Dalton scored 6 points and dished out 7 assists without a turnover. Thomas scored only 3 points, but he matched his career high with 9 rebounds.
Cody Schilling led all scorers with 20 points on 7 of 9 shooting, while
Cameron McCaffrey came off the bench to socre 13 points.
Augustana will host a first-round game in the NSIC / Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night. The game will follow the women's contest at approximately 8 p.m. Pairings for the tournament will be announced following Saturday night's games. The Vikings will be the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Because it is an NSIC event, Augustana booster, faculty and staff passes will not be honored.
