Augustana Advances to Central Region Championship with Win Over Winona State
Box Score
MARSHALL, Minn. - A stellar shooting performance by No. 7 seed Augustana keyed an 88-82 win over No. 6 seed Winona State in the semifinals of the NCAA Central Region Tournament Sunday evening in Marshall.
The Vikings shot 50.9 percent from the field in the victory.
Augie improves to 21-8 and will make their second appearance in the region championship game in school history and first since 1978. Winona State finishes its season with a 24-9 record.
“They’re very physical; they’re the defending national champs,” said Augustana head coach Tom Billeter. “They’re a very good basketball team, I can’t say enough good things about them. I thought it was two teams just battling it out. We have the greatest team in the world to blow a lead. We got up and just didn’t keep that lead. It’s okay because to lose a lead and come back and win games is really what matters.”
Marques Blank and David Foster each netted 20 points for the Vikings, who also shot a sparkling 42.9 percent from behind the arc, connecting on nine of 21 three pointers. Foster notched a double-double, as he pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. He was one of two Vikings to post a double-double in the game, Eric Krogman finished with 10 points and 10 boards.
David Johnson poured in a game-high 27 points for WSU. He struggled from the field shooting 6-of-16, but was 12-of-13 from the foul line. Johnson was one of four Warriors to post double-digits in scoring on the night. Josh Korth finished with 16 points while Jon Walburg added 11 off the bench and Ben Fischer finished with 10.
“Well first of all congratulations to Augustana, they played a magnificent game and their intensity level was there and they took us out of it early on,” said Winona State head coach Mike Leaf. “ I told our guys in the locker room and this is something I’ve talked about many, many times, if you’re going to lose a game, and it’s going to happen, you’re going to leave it out there on the floor and that was the thing I was most proud of.”
With the loss, the Warriors had their streak of three-straight appearances in the region championship game snapped.
Augie will play the winner of tonight's Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State, Mankato game in the Central Region Championship on Tusday at 7 p.m.
