BOX SCORE

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Cameron McCaffrey snapped a 62-62 tie with a field goal with one minute and 18 seconds left in the game to lead Augustana to a 70-65 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in men's basketball on Friday night.

The Vikings then closed out the game with six free throws in the final 48 seconds and held SMSU without a field goal to seal the victory.

McCaffrey led the Vikings (6-0, 2-0 NSIC) with 16 points, scoring 14 in the second half.  Casey Schilling and Brennan Olson each added 13 points with Olson grabbing a team-high eight rebounds.

Jordan Miller led SMSU (4-5, 1-1 NSIC) with a season-high 24 points, connecting on 10 of 20 shots, but was just 2 of 10 from 3-point range.  Miller's 24 points moves him past Charlie Taylor (1981-83) for eighth on the SMSU all-time scoring list and now has 1,238.

Lavione West was the only other Mustang to reach double figures in scoring with 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting.  Miller also led the team in rebounds with eight.

SMSU finished the night just 3 of 17 from 3-point range and made just 12 of 19 free throws.  Augustana held a 36-29 rebound edge and outscored SMSU 11-2 in second chance points.

The Mustangs shot 48 percent (25 of 52) from the field and finished with 14 turnovers.   The Vikings shot 41 percent from the field (21 of 53) and made 24 of 31 free throws.

SMSU held the lead for much of the first six minutes of the game before Casey Schilling gave the Vikings their first lead of the game with a 3-pointer with 12 minutes and 14 seconds left in the half.  The basket started a 12-2 run which pushed the Augustana lead to 23-15, its largest lead of the half. 

SMSU went more than four minutes without scoring until Lavione West connected on a jumper to stop the run with 6:14 left in the half to cut the deficit to 23-17.

The Vikings held a six-point lead three more times in the half, before Miller trimmed the lead to 29-28 at halftime, closing the half with five straight points in the final 52 seconds.

The Mustangs committed eight opening half turnovers and made just two of eight 3-point attempts.

Augustana built a pair of six-point leads in the second half, including 45-39 with 12:20 remaining, before SMSU used a 12-0 run to take its first lead of the half.  Miller started the run with a jumper, before Barnes scored six straight points to give SMSU its first lead since the first half at 47-45.  Miller gave SMSU a four-point lead with a dunk in transition, before West closed the run with a jumper to give SMSU a 51-45 advantage with 8:17 remaining. 

Augustana rallied and tied the game at 53-53 with 5:43 remaining on a field goal by McCaffrey.  The game was tied at 57, before Miller connected on a 3-pointer to give SMSU the lead with four minutes left.

The Vikings then scored five straight points to regain the lead at 62-60 before Miller tied it with a field goal with 1:39 remaining.

McCaffrey stepped up again and gave the Vikings the lead for good with a layup with 1:18 on the clock.  Birch hit one of two free throws for SMSU to trim the lead to 64-63, but SMSU was held without a field goal the remainder of the game and Augustana closed the game with six free throws to seal the victory.

Southwest Minnesota State continues NSIC play tomorrow night at Wayne State with tip-off set for 6 p.m. in Rice Auditorium.