BOX SCORE
CROOKSTON, Minn. -
Cameron McCaffrey scored half of his game-high 24 points in the final six minutes to help Augustana to a 70-61 victory over Minnesota, Crookston Saturday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball.
Augustana improves to 17-9 (14-8 NSIC). UMC, which will not qualify for postseason play, finishes its season 7-19 (3-19 NSIC).
McCaffrey went 7 of 11 from the field, drilled three 3-pointers and did not miss any of his seven free throws. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists.
Cody Schilling, who entered the game just 17 points away from becoming Augustana's all-time leading scorer, finished with 11 points.
Leif Nomeland had 13, and
Drae Murray scored 10.
Akeem Cubie scored 16 points for the Golden Eagles.
Augustana dealt with a lingering UMC squad that was within two points with 2:48 to play. The Vikings finished the game on 10-2 run, leaning on McCaffrey and
Brennan Olson during that final stretch to pull away.
The Vikings shot 51.0 percent (25 of 49), while the Golden Eagles nearly matched the solid performance with a 50-percent (24 of 48) outing of their own.
Augustana experienced its largest lead of the first half six minutes into the game after Murray swiped UMC's Alan Sharpe and finished the play with an easy layup for a 16-9 Viking lead.
The Golden Eagles erased the difference during the next nine minutes, taking what would be their only lead in the first half when Keith Newberry's bucket gave his team a 29-28 advantage with 2:56 left in the first half.
Augustana ripped off the final seven points of the half--getting all of them from McCaffrey--to lead 35-29 at halftime.
Nomeland connected on two first-half 3-pointers and led all scorers with eight points at the break. Schilling and McCaffrey each had seven points.
UMC got precise on the Vikings in the second half, shooting 63.2 percent (12 of 19) from the field. The Golden Eagles eventually erased Augustana's lead when Keith Newberry hit two free throws with 13:38 to play for a 42-40 UMC lead.
Five lead changes ensued in the next 10 minutes.
A McCaffrey jumper and 3-pointer with four minutes left put the Vikings ahead for good. He would score 10 of Augustana's last 14 points.
The Vikings bettered UMC on the glass 29-21.
Augustana will likely be the No. 5 seed in the upcoming NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament. In that scenario, the Vikings would travel to the No. 4 seed, which is expected to be MSU Moorhead, on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The semifinals and finals are on March 3 and 4 in Rochester, Minn.
The official bracket will be released later this evening by the conference office.
