SIOUX FALLS, S.D. –  A stellar defensive effort helped the Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team earn a 69-53 win over No. 5 Augustana in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Tournament on Monday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
MSUM has won seven in a row and is now 18-11 while Augustana fell to 24-3. The Dragons advance to face Minnesota Duluth at 4 p.m. on Tuesday in the championship game.
 
The Dragons held Augustana to just 29.7 percent (19-of-64) for the game, including 1-of-13 (7.7 percent) from three-point range. MSUM held the NSIC South Player of the Year Tyler Riemersma to 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
 
Junior guard Lorenzo McGhee led MSUM with 24 points. Senior forward Gatdoar Kueth added 10 points and six rebounds.
 
In a low-scoring first half, MSUM ended with six straight points to push a five-point lead to 29-18 by the halftime break. Kueth and junior guard Gavin Baumgartner hit back-to-back threes in the final 34 seconds to push the lead into double digits.
 
The MSUM defense was stout in the first half, holding the Vikings to 6-of-30 shooting (20 percent). MSUM shot 42.9 percent on its way to the 11-point lead.
 
McGhee had eight first-half points while Baumgartner and Kueth had seven each.
 
MSUM opened the second half on an 18-8 run to build a commanding 47-26 lead with 12:49 left. McGhee and junior guard Trever Kaiser had six points each during that run.
 
The Dragon lead never dropped below 10 the rest of the game.
 
Kaiser had eight points off the bench for MSUM while Baumgartner finished with seven points, five rebounds and two assists.  Ten different Dragons scored in the game.
 
MSUM will face Minnesota Duluth at 4 p.m. on Tuesday in the NSIC Championship game. It will be MSUM's fifth trip to the NSIC Tournament Championship game under Head Coach Chad Walthall and sixth trip overall.