BOX SCORE
BEMIDJI, Minn. -
Cameron McCaffrey,
Cody Schilling and
Leif Nomeland combined for 55 points and the Vikings held off Bemidji State down the stretch to pick up a 69-67 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over the Beavers Saturday afternoon in Bemidji, Minn.
Augustana improves to 8-5 (5-4 NSIC), while BSU drops to 6-6 (3-5 NSIC).
McCaffrey led all scorers with 20 points, Schilling netted 19 and Nomeland collected a career-high 16. Nomeland was also one rebound away from his first career double-double.
Derrick De Zeeuw also reached double figures with 10 points; he nearly posted his second straight double-double with nine rebounds.
Jake Lindstrom's 15 points led the Beavers.
The Vikings shot 52.0 percent in the second half and neutralized a three-point halftime deficit.
Schilling was responsible for sealing the victory down the stretch, hitting two free throws with six seconds left for a five-point Augustana lead. BSU's Bryce Tesdahl did manage a 3-pointer with one second left, but the Vikings were able to inbound and expire the clock.
BSU led for much of the first half and was the owner of nine-point lead with 4:07 left before the break after Jake Schalow connected a 3-pointer to give his team a 31-22 advantage. The basket capped a 10-2 run by the Beavers.
The Vikings answered in the form of seven straight points--getting points from Schilling, McCaffrey and Nomeland--to trim the difference to points at 31-29 with 1:08 left in the half.
Augustana followed a pair of Beaver free throws with a 3-pointer from McCaffrey to trail by one point with 39 seconds left, but BSU's Mason Walters snuck in a basket just before intermission, affording his squad a 35-32 halftime lead.
McCaffrey had 10 first-half points for the Vikings, hitting two of his three 3-pointers.
BSU connected at a 46.2 percent clip from the floor in the first half.
Augustana quickly dug into the Beaver lead in the second half, taking what would be the last lead change of the game after Schilling drained a jumper four minutes in. The basket earned the Vikings a 43-42 advantage and sparked a 13-2 run that resulted in a 55-46 Augustana lead five minutes later.
Nomeland went to work with nine minutes left, scoring six points and allowing the Vikings to grab a 12-point lead at the 6:22 mark.
The Beavers nudged back in the game's final five minutes, getting to as close as three points with less than a minute left. Schilling answered with his makes from the charity stripe to put the game out of reach.
The Vikings finished the game shooting 45.6 percent from the floor. They also outrebounded the Beavers 41-33.
The win marks the first time this season Augustana has been victorious in a game decided by four or less points.
Augustana finishes this weekend series at Minnesota Duluth tomorrow at 4 p.m.
