By Chad Courrier
Free Press Staff Writer
MANKATO — Andrew Bernstetter didn’t score in the first 40 minutes of Tuesday’s championship game. Turns out, he was saving it for overtime.
Bernstetter scored six points in the extra session, with five starting a game-ending 13-point run that pushed St. Cloud State past Augustana 84-75 to win the Central Region men’s basketball tournament at Bresnan Arena. It’s the second consecutive season that Augustana has lost in the region championship game, and Bernstetter’s 3-pointer with 11:15 to play was the biggest shot.
“I was open, and I wanted to shoot,” Bernstetter said. “We were down two, and I had a decent look so I threw it up there to see what happens. I hadn’t scored in two full halves so it was my time to help the team.”
It wasn’t a pretty game as the teams combined for 33 turnovers and 41 of 64 shooting at the free-throw line, but that’s the way the Huskies wanted to play.
“They hit a 3 on one of their first possessions, but I thought we got back and matched up, for the most part,” St. Cloud State coach Kevin Schlagel said. “We had to control them because they’re so explosive. They’re perimeter kids are tough to handle.”
The first half was played at St. Cloud State’s pace, but Augustana led 28-26 at halftime. Augustana scored the first six points on 3-pointers by Cody Schilling and David Foster, and the Huskies rallied to go up 14-8 on a 3-pointer by Brett Putz at the 11-minute mark. Other than that, the teams, which combined for 20 turnovers, were within one score of each other the rest of the half.
“Both teams are tough and played physical,” Augustana coach Tom Billeter said. “We were stopping them initially, but then they’d get an offensive rebound or a foul. It seemed like we really had to work to score.”
The Huskies eventually pushed ahead by five on back-to-back three-point plays by Matt Schneck, who was voted the tournament MVP, and Theo Rothstein with 5:22 to go, but a six-point run by Augustana, capped by another Foster 3-pointer, put the Vikings back on top two minutes later.
The teams traded scores the rest of the way, though Augustana missed five free throws in the final four minutes and St. Cloud State missed four. Foster’s layup with nine seconds left evened the score at 66, and Schilling made a steal to keep the Huskies from getting the winner in regulation.
“We had put in so much work,” Schneck said. “I didn’t doubt for a minute that we could pull through.”
The game was tied at 70 when Schilling converted a three-point play with two minutes gone in the overtime, and a wing jumper by Nathan Truex gave Augustana a 75-71 lead.
But Bernstetter scored on a tip-in and hit a 3-pointer as the Huskies closed strong, making 6 of 6 free throws in the final minute.
“This feels great,” Schneck said. “I’m so proud of these guys and all the work we did. We had different people step up at different times.”
Schneck finished with 19 points and 19 rebounds, and Josh Ortmann scored 17 points. Taylor Witt added 16 points, making 8 of 11 free throws. The Huskies had a 48-33 rebounding advantage.
Schilling scored 22 points, and Cameron McCaffrey added 17.
St. Cloud State (28-5) advances to the Elite Eight on March 24-27 at Springfield, Mass.
“This is pretty special,” Schlagel said. “This is what you play for, this is what you dream of. I couldn’t be happier for this bunch of kids.”
ST. CLOUD STATE 84
Rothstein 3-3 3-3 10, Witt 4-15 8-11 16, Ortmann 7-11 2-2 17, Bernstetter 2-6 1-2 6, Schneck 5-9 9-14 19, Putz 4-8 1-4 13, Phillips 1-2 0-1 2, Fisher 0-1 0-0 0, Bergstraser 0-2 1-2 1. Totals: 26-57 25-39 84.
AUGUSTANA 75
Dalton 2-5 0-0 4, Schilling 9-17 2-4 22, Foster 6-10 2-4 16, DeZeeuw 0-0 3-4 3, Stephens 4-8 3-6 11, McCaffrey 5-13 6-8 17, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Hettermann 0-3 0-0 0, Thomas 0-1 0-0 0, Truex 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 27-62 16-25 75.
Halftime: Augustana 28, St. Cloud State 26. 3-point shooting: St. Cloud State 7-14 (Rothstein 1-1, Witt 0-2, Ortmann 1-2, Bernstetter 1-3, Putz 4-6), Augustana 5-19 (Dalton 0-1, Schilling 2-56, Foster 2-4, McCaffrey 1-5, Brown 0-1, Thomas 0-1). Rebounds: St. Cloud State 48 (Schneck 19), Augustana 33 (DeZeeuw 6). Assists: St. Cloud State 13 (Ortmann 4), Augustana 8 (Dalton 4). Steals: St. Cloud State 8 (Ortmann 3), Augustana 8 (Schilling 4). Turnovers: St. Cloud State 18, Augustana 15. Total fouls: St. Cloud State 24, Augustana 29. Fouled out: Augustana (Dalton, DeZeeuw).
Attendance: 871.
