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Augustana tops MSU in first round

Photo courtesy of Joe Ahlquist/Argus Leader. Minot State University's Sam Brizee (50) goes up for a shot as Augustana's Allie Walter (45) and Presley O'Farrell (35) defend during a game Wednesday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.

Eighth-seeded Minot State entered the NSIC tournament with just four wins on the season, so they were a decided underdog Wednesday against top-seeded and South Division champion Augustana in the first round.

To the Beavers’ credit, they hung around for most of the first half, but asking them to upset the Vikings, even in the quasi-home environment of the Sanford Pentagon, was too much to ask. Augie used a strong defensive performance and rugged effort during the middle two periods to earn a 70-61 win in front of 1,241 fans. It wasn’t quite as close as that final would indicate – the Vikings led by as much as 27 before the Beavers closed the fourth quarter with a flurry.

Still, that resilience from the last-place team in the NSIC wasn’t unexpected as far as the Vikings were concerned, and served them well as they prepare to make a run at the tournament title.

“As cliched as it is, they’re a team that’s better than their record, and I anticipated a good game,” said Vikings coach Dave Krauth. “I was pleased with how we got settled down in the third quarter and built a nice cushion for ourselves. It was a good first game, we got a win and now we can move on.”

The Vikings (23-7) shot 43 percent from the floor for the game, but that included a 7-for-31 effort from beyond the arc. When Augie went inside they had success, and though they were outrebounded for the game, Minot did much of that work after the game had been decided. The Vikings overcame their outside shooting struggles with a strong effort on the offensive boards (finishing with 10), and connected on 20-of-32 shots from inside the arc.

Shelby Selland led the way with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Sydney Rome had 15 points, but it was Logan O’Farrell who filled up the box score, as the versatile junior finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, six blocks and four steals.

“We really wanted to come out and get on top right away,” O’Farrell said. “It’s playoff time. Everyone’s coming out hard to try to keep their seasons going, so we’re prepared to battle. We came out tonight and got stops and got boards and we know when we do that things are probably going to go our way.”

The Vikings had other quiet contributors, as Paige Peterson had seven points and six boards, Abby Hora seven points and four assists and Naomi Rust eight points and four rebounds.

Kori Eurich led the Beavers (4-25) with 16 points, while Kari Clements had 15 points and Kristal Flowers 11 points and 12 rebounds. Minot shot 36 percent from the floor, including 5-for-20 from 3-point land. That includes a fourth quarter in which they scored 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting and made both of their 3s.

The Vikings moved up one spot in the latest regional rankings that came out this week, from 8th to 7th. That strengthens their case for a potentially getting into the NCAA tournament without winning the conference’s automatic qualifier, but with the depth of the region, a potential upset could always shake things up, so the Vikings won’t take anything for granted.

“It was nice to move up a spot, but we still are focused on winning that conference tournament,” said Rome, a former Roosevelt standout and the Vikings’ only senior. “We need to work out a few kinks but we’re getting there. Tonight was definitely a step in the right direction.”

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