Box Score
ABERDEEN, S.D. – Northern State gave the visiting Augustana Vikings everything they could handle and then some for 39 minutes, 57 seconds on Friday night. It was the final three seconds that proved difficult.
Augustana's Cameron McCaffrey hit an off-balance lay-up in traffic with 3.5 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 70-all, then scored the Vikings' first four points of overtime to lead the Vikings to a 78-73 thriller over the Wolves in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball action.
The Wolves got a desperation attempt from near mid-court at the buzzer, but fell just short of the mark. Friday's loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Wolves, who slipped to an even 11-11 on the year and 7-11 in conference play. Augustana, winners of 9 of their last 10 heading into Friday's tilt, improved to 16-6 overall and 13-5 in conference play and held on to their third place spot in the league standings in doing so.
NSU held as much as a 12-point lead early in the second half, but watched it slip away in a midst of a 17-2 Augustana run that covered nearly seven minutes of action and turned what was a 43-31 NSU lead into a 48-45 Viking advantage.
The Wolves responded with a three-point play from freshman
Jared Hannigan, but from that point on it was a back-and-forth battle for the lead. Hannigan again came up big for the Wolves, pulling down a defensive rebound in traffic with 41 seconds left in the game. A foul by AC's Cody Schilling send Hannigan to the line where he knocked down both free throws and gave the Wolves a 3-point cushion.
Schilling cut the lead to one at 69-68 on the Vikings' ensuing possession, but NSU cut was able to run another 15 seconds off the board before the Vikings could stop the clock with a foul. Junior Dave Lane, however, made just one of two free throws, leaving the door open for McCaffrey to tie the score with his driving shot.
The Wolves scored the first bucket of the overtime period before the cold of winter snuck into the line-up. NSU misfired on its next five field goal attempts before putting another point on the board in the form of a
Marty Gregor free throw.
Augustana, meanwhile, hit four straight free throws and was clinging to a 1-point lead following Gregor's trip to the line. Viking sophomore Ethan Thomforde then scored his only two points of the night on Augustana's next possession to push it back to a three-point lead with 35 seconds to go.
Despite another misfire on the offensive end of the court, the Wolves still had a shot to push the game to a second overtime period after the Vikings came up empty on a trip to the free throw line. Senior
Tom Parks' look from the top of the key would not sink, and Schilling then iced the game with a pair of free throws at the 1-second mark.
The Wolves got a balanced effort from their line-up, as six players finished with eight or more points. Lane led the way with an even dozen, followed by Parks' 11. Sophomore
Collin Pryor and Hannigan each added 10 apiece, while Pryor picked up his 11th double-double with 10 rebounds.
Augustana, meanwhile, got 42 of their 78 total points from McCaffrey and Schilling, both of whom finished with 26 points. Leif Nomeland added 10 points, while Derrick DeZeeuw pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Vikings to a 44-39 advantage in that category.
The Vikings also posted 17 points in transition to just two for the Wolves.
The Wolves are back at it on Saturday night as they close out the home portion of the 2010-11 slate against Wayne State. Both teams are fighting for a play-off spot along with Southwest Minnesota State. All three squads hold 7-11 records in conference play.
Tip-off for Saturday's contest is slated for 8 p.m. following the conclusion of the women's contest in Wachs Arena.
