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  • Minnesota State's Miles Chamberlain (foreground) and Augustana's Cody Schilling battle for a loose ball during the first half Friday at Bresnan Arena. Pat Christman

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  • Minnesota State's Connor O'Brien blocks a shot by Augustana's Cameron McCaffrey during the first half Friday at Bresnan Arena. Pat Christman

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February 3, 2012

Augustana rallies in 2nd half to down MSU

Denny Weller Special to The Free Press

MANKATO — MANKATO —  Augustana’s ability to cause some havoc in the early stages of the second half Friday night triggered a 14-2 surge that carried the Vikings to a 70-64 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men’s basketball win over Minnesota State at Bresnan Arena.

A season-best crowd of 2,114 watched the Mavericks turn in a solid first-half effort in gaining a 35-24 lead at the break. Freshman forward Zach Romashko put through 13 of his team-high 21 points while sophomore guard Jimmy Whitehead chipped in eight points and four assists.

“We were rolling in the first half,” Romashko said. “We were getting stops on defense and hitting shots on offense.

“I thought we moved the ball real well and hit the open cutters for some dunks. We came out with a lot more energy in the first half but it doesn’t always matter how you start, you have to finish.”

Augustana (13-7 overall, 10-6 in NSIC) scored the final two baskets of the opening half before senior Cody Schilling’s three-point play began his 10-point flurry and gave the Vikings a 38-37 lead. Connor O’Brien’s 18-footer and layup off a loose-ball scramble kept the Mavericks around.

However, a trio of 3-pointers — two from Al Richter and another from Cameron McCaffrey — put Augustana ahead 50-44 midway through the second half. Whitehead and Stephen Kirschbaum then drilled 3-pointers for the Mavericks before 6-foot-7 junior Leif Nomeland nailed a pair of 3’s and a putback basket to seal things.

“I thought it was the tale of two halves,” Minnesota State coach Matt Margenthaler said. “I thought our offense dictated the tempo in the first half. We knocked down some shots which didn’t lead to transition baskets for them.

“We opened up 2 for 10 shooting in the second half and had some live turnovers which led to transition baskets to get them going. You can’t allow a team that has that kind of guard play get out and transition. I thought we competed better tonight but we need to finish off games at the end.”

Kirschbaum finished with 16 points and four rebounds for the Mavericks, who also received 11 points and six assists from Whitehead. Schilling fired in a game-high 23 points for the Vikings while Nomeland and McCaffrey added 16 and 14 points, respectively.

Minnesota State (7-13, 6-10) hosts Wayne State at 6 p.m. today.

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