BOX SCORE
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Jake Hottenstine scored 31 points to lead Minnesota Duluth to a 101-99 victory over No. 21-ranked Augustana Sunday afternoon in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball in Sioux Falls.
UMD moves to 9-4 (6-3 NSIC); Augustana falls to 9-5 (6-4 NSIC).
Hottenstine went 12 of 20 from the floor and also grabbed eight rebounds.
Cameron McCaffrey led Augustana with 27 points.
Drae Murray added 20,
Cody Schilling had 16 and
Leif Nomeland scored 10.
The Bulldogs shot 62.1 percent in the win.
Augustana experienced solid shooting, too, connecting at a 53.0-percent clip on the afternoon.
The Bulldogs had built themselves a 22-13 lead with 12:31 left in the first half; however, back-to-back 3-pointers by
David Fritsch and McCaffrey and a put-back by
Brennan Olson gave the Vikings a 27-26 advantage at the 8:28 mark.
Augustana trailed briefly during the next two minutes, but after a bucket by Nomeland with six minutes to go before the break gave the Vikings a 32-31 edge and a lead they would hold for the remainder of the half.
The Vikings sported a 47-43 advantage at intermission.
McCaffrey went 5 of 7 from the field and scored 13 first-half points. Nomeland was also in double figures by the break with 10.
Augustana retained its lead for the first seven minutes of the second half, extending it to as many eight points. UMD, though, tied the game at 63-63 with 13 minutes left after a 3-pointer by Hottenstine. A minute later Augustana regained the lead on a free throw by McCaffrey, but A Ryan Rasmussen bucket allowed the Bulldogs to retake the lead at 67-66 with 11:42 to go. UMD would not trail from then on.
The Bulldogs led by as many as points in the final five minutes of play.
The Vikings trailed 100-98 with the ball and nine ticks left. Rasmussen, however, came up with a timely defensive play for UMD, stripping Schilling on what could have been the game-tying field goal. Rasmussen followed that by nailing a free throw with six seconds left to make it a three-point contest, and UMD quickly sent Murray to the charity stripe to avoid a 3-pointer from the Vikings and secure the win.
Augustana outrebounded UMD 34-26, marking the first positive margin for the Vikings in the category in three games.
The Bulldogs committed just six turnovers, while the Vikings made eight.
Augustana will host Wayne State Saturday at 6 p.m.
