BOX SCORE BOX SCORE
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Drae Murray and
Cody Schilling combined for 44 points and Augustana shot 56.4 percent from the field as the No. 16 Vikings rolled to a 83-69 non-conference victory over Dakota State Tuesday evening in Sioux Falls.
Augustana improves to 3-1. The game was an exhibition contest for DSU (4-3).
Murray and Schilling each scored 22 points and hit four 3-pointers to spark a thriving Viking offense. Murray also snagged six rebounds and dished out eight assists, while Schilling grabbed five rebounds.
Leif Nomeland added a season-high 12 points.
The Vikings drilled 11 of 18 3-pointers (61.1 percent) on the evening--their best outing from behind the arc since Feb. 20, 2010, when they hit 11 of 17 (64.7 percent) at Northern State.
Luke Lamb's 14 points led DSU, which outrebounded the Vikings 33-30.
The double-figure win for Augustana came after an early and explosive run by DSU.
DSU opened the contest on an 11-0 surge, cuffing the Vikings with a double-figure deficit early. The run saw the Trojans hit their first four field goals of the game.
From there, though, Augustana went on a charge that ended with a pair of 3-pointers from Schilling and Murray to knot the game at 20-20 with 10:41 left before the break.
The Vikings eventually took their first lead of the game--a 27-25 advantage--three minutes later when Murray drained another from behind the arc.
More late first-half buckets from Murray and Schilling, who each had 15 points by intermission, had the Vikings sporting a 47-36 lead at halftime.
Both teams shot well in the opening half. Augustana shot 58.1 percent from the floor, while DSU was at 48.3 percent.
The Vikings' hot shooting continued in the second half, helping the them gain as large as a 21-point lead late in the game. Augustana shot 54.2 percent in the final 20 minutes and led by at least 10 points throughout the second half.
A handful of reserves made waves off the bench for Augustana. Besides Nomeland's 12 points,
Eric Jorgensen scored eight, and
Yuriy Malashenko added five. The Viking bench accounted for 27 points.
Augustana opens conference play Dec. 2 and 3, hosting Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State.
