BOX SCORE
WINONA, Minn. - No. 8-ranked and league-leading Winona State received double-figure scoring performances from four different players to collect an 85-79 victory over Augustana Saturday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball.
WSU improves to 18-2 (13-1 NSIC) and has now won seven-straight games. Augustana moves to 10-7 (7-6 NSIC).
The Warriors made 45 trips to the free-throw line, connecting on 34 of those tries.
WSU scorers in double figures included Grant Johnson (20), Xavier Humphrey (15), Clayton Vette (15) and Jon Walburg (11).
Cody Schilling poured in a game-high 27 points for Augustana, which shot 53.8 percent (28 of 52) from the floor.
Leif Nomeland netted 16 points, and
Cameron McCaffrey added 10.
The Vikings, who led 36-33 at halftime, were within three with three minutes to play, but the Warriors made nine free throws in the final two minutes to hold off an Augustana rally.
Behind 57.1-percent shooting and 14 first-half points from Nomeland, the Vikings were able to hold a lead at halftime despite trailing by as many as eight points during the first 20 minutes.
WSU quickly worked to get rid of the Viking lead early in the second half, though Augustana managed to hang around.
A Vette three-point play with 15:51 to play broke a 44-44 tie, but the Vikings tied the score three more times in the next eight minutes--the last coming with 7:24 to go when
Derrick De Zeeuw buried a pair of free throws.
Five straight points by WSU followed, and the Warriors would lead for the rest of the game.
Free throws were an effective way for WSU to stay ahead. The Warriors went 25 of 33 from the foul stripe in the second half.
WSU controlled the glass in its win, outrebounding the Vikings 35-28. Sixteen of those came on the offensive end of the floor, and the Warriors recorded 17 second-chance points.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak against WSU for Augustana, which was facing its first nationally ranked opponent of the season.
The Vikings host Concordia-St. Paul and St. Cloud State next weekend.
