2008 Woodie Awards
Mavericks win sixth-straight; stay unbeaten atop NCC
by Chris Jagerson
Issue date: 1/29/08
Section: Mens Sports
Augustana went into Saturday night's game as a hot team, but the Vikings found out that right now that can't compete with how Minnesota State is playing.
The Maverick men have won six in a row, including a perfect 4-0 record in North Central Conference play with a 91-78 victory over the Vikings at the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
MSU's dominating play began right away, jumping out to a 24-7 lead just 6:31 into the game.
The Mavericks held a double-digit lead for most of the first half and went into the break up 49-38 behind 15 first-half points from Jake Morrow.
Augustana cut its second-half deficit to 81-75 with 4:17 remaining, but three free throws from Atila Santos and another from Jesse Clark opened the lead back up to 10 with just over two minutes remaining, which was too late for a comeback.
"I think we played our best team game of the year," sophomore forward Curt Greeley said. "We really stayed focused and didn't have many lapses. When they did makes their runs, they didn't last long."
The Mavericks never trailed at any point of the game.
Morrow and Santos each scored a team-high 19 points and Santos grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds, which helped MSU hold a 39-32 rebounding advantage. Jadee Jones scored 14 points, Preston Whitaker added 12 and Marcus Hill and Clark each had nine points.
MSU shot 12 of 18 from 3-point range, which were the most 3-pointers it has made in a game this season. The Mavericks shot 54.5 percent from the floor, compared to 40 percent for Augustana.
Corey McIntosh scored a game-high 33 points on 10 of 22 shooting and 13 of 15 from the free throw line in a losing effort for the Vikings (15-5, 3-2 NCC).
Saturday's game featured the two best teams record-wise in the NCC. Augustana lost its conference opener to Nebraska-Omaha, but responded with victories over South Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud State.
The Mavericks (15-4, 4-0), on the other hand, have won six in a row and hold a one-and-a-half game lead over USD in the NCC standings.
"We're doing a lot better than most people expected us to," freshman guard Joe Drapcho said. "Most people expected us to have a down year because of who we lost, but our team chemistry has been developing really well all season."
Minnesota State's next challenge comes on the road at 8 p.m. Thursday at North Dakota.
Chris Jagerson is a Reporter staff writer
The Maverick men have won six in a row, including a perfect 4-0 record in North Central Conference play with a 91-78 victory over the Vikings at the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
MSU's dominating play began right away, jumping out to a 24-7 lead just 6:31 into the game.
The Mavericks held a double-digit lead for most of the first half and went into the break up 49-38 behind 15 first-half points from Jake Morrow.
Augustana cut its second-half deficit to 81-75 with 4:17 remaining, but three free throws from Atila Santos and another from Jesse Clark opened the lead back up to 10 with just over two minutes remaining, which was too late for a comeback.
"I think we played our best team game of the year," sophomore forward Curt Greeley said. "We really stayed focused and didn't have many lapses. When they did makes their runs, they didn't last long."
The Mavericks never trailed at any point of the game.
Morrow and Santos each scored a team-high 19 points and Santos grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds, which helped MSU hold a 39-32 rebounding advantage. Jadee Jones scored 14 points, Preston Whitaker added 12 and Marcus Hill and Clark each had nine points.
MSU shot 12 of 18 from 3-point range, which were the most 3-pointers it has made in a game this season. The Mavericks shot 54.5 percent from the floor, compared to 40 percent for Augustana.
Corey McIntosh scored a game-high 33 points on 10 of 22 shooting and 13 of 15 from the free throw line in a losing effort for the Vikings (15-5, 3-2 NCC).
Saturday's game featured the two best teams record-wise in the NCC. Augustana lost its conference opener to Nebraska-Omaha, but responded with victories over South Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud State.
The Mavericks (15-4, 4-0), on the other hand, have won six in a row and hold a one-and-a-half game lead over USD in the NCC standings.
"We're doing a lot better than most people expected us to," freshman guard Joe Drapcho said. "Most people expected us to have a down year because of who we lost, but our team chemistry has been developing really well all season."
Minnesota State's next challenge comes on the road at 8 p.m. Thursday at North Dakota.
Chris Jagerson is a Reporter staff writer
Be the first to comment on this story