Men's Basketball | 2/6/2016 8:45:00 PM
Box Score MOORHEAD, Minn. – In at matchup of top 10-ranked teams, the No. 8-ranked Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team fell short Saturday afternoon against No. 1-ranked Augustana, falling to the Vikings 94-86 in front of 2,237 fans at Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead. Junior guard
Aaron Lien surpassed 1,000 points for his career in the game for MSUM.
The Dragons are now 23-4 on the year and 15-3 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference rival while the Vikings are 20-2 overall and 17-1 in the NSIC.
MSUM was led by senior center
Isaac Sevlie's 22 points and three blocks, while sophomore guard
Tanner Kretchman contributed 20 points. Senior guard
Tyler Vaughan added 15 points, four rebounds and four steals while senior guard
Ngijol Songolo put up 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.
It was the battle of the big men as MSUM had 30 points in the paint and Augie had 26. Augie's Daniel Jansen, co-Preseason Player of the Year with MSUM's Sevlie, had 25 points.
The Dragons shot 57 percent from the field while the Vikings shot 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc. The Dragons would commit 11 turnovers and the Vikings would convert, scoring 14 points off of turnovers. MSUM grabbed 29 boards and Augie had 32 rebounds.
The Dragons came out firing in the first half as Songolo would hit a quick three, giving the Dragons a 3-0 lead. Augie would go on a run before Kretchman would hit a huge jumper tying the game at 15. A three from Augie's Schilling would boost their lead to nine at 46-38 with 1:30 to play in the half, but back-to-back three's from Kretchman would close the gap to three, 46-43 going into the half.
The Vikings started the second half on a run, taking an 11-point lead with 15:33 to play in the game, but Sevlie would answer with a run of his own, starting with a monster block followed by a corner jumper, a layup, and three free throws in one minute to bring the score within six, 64-58.
Augie would get a huge spark and extend its lead to as much as 11 with under five minutes to play, but back-to-back steals from Vaughan and Songolo and a monster three from Vaughan would bring the score within six, 89-83. Vaughan would hit another three with 20 seconds to play, but the come back would fall short as the Dragons would fall, 94-86.
MSUM is back on the road next week with matches at Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State Friday and Saturday.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Tonight marked the first time that the Dragons hosted the #1 ranked team in the nation since losing 89-56 to Winona St. on Feb. 16, 2007.
