Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball
NSIC Basketball: St. Cloud State 96, Augustana 90
MEN'S BASKETBALL: Huskies Cap Weekend Sweep with 96-90 Win Over Augustana
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Taylor Witt |
Sioux Falls, S.D. -- St. Cloud State sophomore guard Taylor Witt (Morris) scored a career high 30 points to lead the Huskies to a 96-90 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) win over Augustana College Saturday night at the Elmen Center. The win completed a weekend sweep for the Huskies and puts them in a three-way tie for third place in the NSIC standings. St. Cloud State is 15-6 overall and 9-4 in the NSIC. Augustana is 14-6 overall and 8-5 in league play.
The win puts the Huskies in a three-way tie for third place in the NSIC. The NSIC weekend sweep was the third of the season for the Huskies. Saturday night's win also marked the fifth game this season that the Huskies have scored 90 or more points.
In an evenly matched game, the Huskies and Vikings shot an identical 48.4 percent from the field and the Huskies held a 38-35 rebounding advantage. Augustana shot 42.1 percent from three point range while the Huskies shot 23.5 percent from beyond the arc. St. Cloud State had an advantage at the free throw line, making 32 of 36 attempts for an 88.9 percent efficiency. The Vikings made 20 of 31 free throw attempts.
Witt led all scorers with his 30 points and is the second Husky this season to score 30 points in a game as sophomore guard Josh Ortmann (Buffalo) threw in 30 in a 99-97 overtime win at Winona State on Dec. 5. Witt made eight of 15 field goal attempts and 13 of 15 free throw attempts. He equaled his career high of nine assists. First year guard Brett Putz (Forest City, IA) netted 16 points and made six of six free throw attempts. Sophomore forward Jesse Fisher (Pequot Lakes) had a career high eight rebounds and matched his career high with 15 points. He made five of six field goal and free throw attempts. St. Cloud State junior center Matt Schneck (Whitefish Bay, WI) in his first start since Jan. 9 scored 14 points and had nine rebounds. Schneck had missed five games due to injury.
Four of Augustana College's starters scored in double figures, led by Eric Krogman with 27 points and nine rebounds. Marques Blank added 19 points, Cody Schilling 15 points and Lee Stephens 10 points.
Augustana scored the first four points of the game, a jumper by Stephens and layup by Blank to take an early lead. Scoring was slow to happen in the early going but a four-point play by Witt and a jumper by senor forward Craig Coenen (Kaukauna, WI) gave the Huskies a 13-8 lead six and a half minutes into the game. A 10-2 Augustana run erased the Husky lead and the Vikings took an 18-15 lead with 8:26 on the clock. Three minutes later when St. Cloud State first year forward Theo Rothstein (St. Michael) slammed one home, the Husky lead was back to five, 24-19. Augustana would score one basket in the final 2:44 of the first half while the Huskies extended the lead to 36-26 at halftime.
Augustana closed to within six points after scoring the first four points of the second half only to have the Husky lead increase to 12 points on an Andrew Bernstetter three-point basket. Augustana kept after the Huskies and a layup by Derrick De Zeeuw and a three point basket from Schilling brought the Husky lead down to six points, 57-51 at the 11:11 mark. A 12-2 Husky run that included scoring from four different players including four points each from Witt and Rothstein gave the Huskies their largest lead of the game, 69-53 at the 7:52 mark. Twice in the next four minutes Augustana closed to nine points, the last time with 3:54 on the clock. The Huskies made 21 of 22 free throws in the final three and a half minutes and Augustana nailed four three-point baskets in the final 1:15 to close to the final score of 96-90. Of those 21 free throws made late in the game, Taylor Witt made 11 attempts and Brett Putz all six of his attempts.
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