SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Some days, it's just not your day. That was the case Monday for the Augustana men's basketball team as the Vikings fell 69-53 to MSU Moorhead in the semifinals of the Sanford Health/NSIC Tournament.
Augustana, who is securely in the NCAA Division II Tournament thanks to its 24-3 overall record, will await its NCAA regional outcome Sunday at 9:30 p.m.
The Vikings' offense sputtered in the opening half, shooting just 20 percent from the field. The usually reliable offense trailed by just five points with 55 seconds remaining in the opening half but back-to-back 3-point baskets from the Dragons forced an 11-point deficit at the break. One of the 3's was a mid-court shot as time expired.
The Dragons then came out of the intermission to score six quick points and open a 17-point advantage. That lead for the Dragons grew to 21 points with 12:49 on the clock.
At that point, the Augustana offense began clicking with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 13 points with 9:28 remaining in the game. The run started with a pair of
Jameson Bryan jumpers, two Bryan free throws and a layup from
Adam Dykman for a 47-34 score.
After baskets were traded, the Vikings got the deficit all the way down to 10 points on a one-and-one situation from Dylan Lebrun and again on a LeBrun layup with just over five minutes in the game.
The Vikings couldn't get the lead under 10 points as the final time came on a
Tyler Riemersma old-fashioned 3-point play with 3:43 on the clock for a 59-49 score. However, the Vikings scored just four points the remainder of the game, trying to force the comeback as the final score sat at 69-53.
Bryan led the way for AU with 13 points while Fink added 12. Both LeBrun and Riemersma tallied 11 points for Augustana. Riemersma recorded another double-double with 13 rebounds while Dykman had nine rebounds and Fink seven.
MSU Moorhead received a big offensive boost from Lorenzo McGhee with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
The 2022 NCAA Selection Show will take place Sunday on NCAA.com at 9:30 p.m. In the latest regional rankings, the Vikings held the No. 1 slot in the Central Region and were followed by Upper Iowa at No. 2, who lost to Minnesota Duluth on Monday.
--GoAugie.com--
