MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team cut a 17-point deficit to four in the second half but the rally came up short against No. 16 Augustana as the Dragons dropped an 89-79 contest Sunday at Nemzek Fieldhouse.
MSUM fell to 0-2 on the year while Augustana improved to 2-0. Neither game counted towards NSIC divisional play which begins next weekend.
Career High for Beeninga
In his second game as a Dragon after redshirting last year, guard Jacob Beeninga had a big contribution off the bench for the Dragons. He finished with a career-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting. His brother, Johnny, was a four-year member of the MSUM men's program.
Further Inside the Numbers…
Junior guard Lorenzo McGhee barely missed a double-double with an MSUM-high of 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Dragons in both categories. He also led with four assists. McGhee led the Dragons with 14 points in Saturday's opener.
Senior guard Gatdoar Kueth had 12 points off the bench while junior guards Gavin Baumgartner and Bryce Irsfeld had 11 each.
Took a While to Warm Up
Both teams came out of the gate ice cold from the field on Sunday. Seven minutes into the game on Sunday, the score was 6-2 in favor of Augustana. MSUM started out 1-of-11 from the field while Augustana was 2-for-8. Both teams warmed up from the field substantially, however, as both teams shot identical 17-of-27 (63 percent) from the field in the second half.
Second Half Surge
MSUM faced a 51-34 deficit with 16:19 left in the game, but three straight 3-pointers by Kueth, Baumgartner and sophomore forward Dane Zimmer, cut the lead to 51-43. The Augustana lead grew back to 11 but the Dragons closed the gap again with a Zimmer basket with 5:44 left to cut the lead to 72-68, the closest MSUM had been since earlier in the first half.
The Vikings responded with an 8-2 run over the next 1:40 to push the lead back to 10, and MSUM got no closer than eight of the rest of the way.
Up Next
MSUM opens NSIC North Division Play on Friday, Jan. 8 at Minnesota Crookston. Game time is 6 p.m.
Today's loss marks the first time the Dragons have dropped their first two home NSIC games since falling 80-69 to St. Cloud State on Dec. 11, 2009, and 76-54 to Concordia St. Paul the following night. It's also the first time that the Dragons have lost their first two home games in a season since sliding 73-59 to St. Cloud State on Nov. 20, 1999, then losing 82-54 to North Dakota State 10 nights later.