BOX SCORE SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Cody Schilling and
Cameron McCaffrey each scored 19 points to guide No. 18 Augustana to a 69-51 victory over Minnesota State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball Saturday night in Sioux Falls.
The win, which was Augustana's third straight, moves the Vikings to 5-1 (2-0 NSIC). MSU falls to 2-4 (1-1 NSIC).
The 19-point outings by Schilling and McCaffrey were game highs.
Leif Nomeland added 10 points and 11 rebounds to notch his first career double-double.
Augustana answered a slow, 27.3 percent first-half shooting performance with a 53.6-percent effort in the second half.
The Vikings were also relentless on the boards, outrebounding the Mavericks 45-31. The 14-rebound difference was the best for Augustana this season.
An uncharacteristically low shooting performance by the Vikings in the first half significantly slowed their offense. Augustana shot less than 30 percent and hit just one 3-pointer.
The Mavericks, however, countered with even worse shooting, connecting at 23.8 percent from the floor.
Augustana's largest first-half lead came after a 6-1 run by the Vikings to close the first half. The cold shooting by both teams amounted to a 24-16 Augustana advantage at halftime.
McCaffrey, who hit the Vikings' lone 3-pointer in the first half, led all scorers with nine points at intermission.
The eight-point halftime lead quickly grew for the Vikings in the second half. Improved shooting allowed Augustana to extend its lead to 18 points with 10 minutes to go. The largest Viking lead came when they were ahead by 22 points with 8:14 left and again with 4:47 remaining.
From there, Augustana cruised to the double-digit victory.
The win was the first for Augustana over MSU since the 2009-10 season.
Jimmy Whitehead led MSU with 13 points.
The Mavericks shot a season-low 30.6 percent. Their 51 total points was also a season low.
The 2-0 start to the NSIC season is the best conference-opening effort since the 1994-95 season when Augustana went 3-0 to begin North Central Conference play.
Augustana travels to U-Mary and Northern State next Friday and Saturday for a pair of NSIC games.
