SIOUX FALLS, SD — This is a semi-final game for the Sanford Health/NSIC basketball tournament as the nationally ranked No. 5 Augustana men’s basketball team takes on MSU Moorhead on Monday at 1:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.

Augustana students receive free entry to the contest through Prairie Farms Dairy and KXRB by showing their student ID.

The game, inside Sanford’s Pentagon, will be televised on Midco Sports, on channel 999 for Comcast customers in TwinCites, and available on the NSIC network with the GoAugie app, presented by CellOnly.

About the dragons

Minnesota State is in the semifinals after pulling away from St. Cloud State in the second half of Sunday’s quarterfinals. The Dragons won that contest 87-76. Gabe Myron scored a game-high 20 points to lead five Dragons in double-digit scoring. MSUM found himself at home in the Sanford Pentagon, shooting 52.4% from the field. Myron’s 20 points was not only a career high, but the first time he scored in double figures in his career.

For the year, the Dragons rank two in double-digit averages of 12.3 and 12.0 points per outing. The 12.3 comes from Lorenzo McGhee while the 12.0 comes from the hands of Gavin Baumgartner. Dane Zimmer is MSUM’s leading rebounder with 7.0 per out.

McGhee was named to the All-NSIC First Team while Baumgartner earned Second Team honors at the NSIC Postseason Awards announced last week.

Previously this season

Augustana and MSU Moorhead did not play their originally scheduled match on January 7 due to COVID-19 protocols within the MSU Moorhead program. The game is declared ‘no contest’ in the eyes of the NSIC and the NCAA.

About the Vikings
Augustana is the No. 1 seed in the NSIC tournament, ranked No. 5 in the nation and No. 1 in the Central Region with a 24-2 overall record. The Vikings are in the semifinals after a 73-55 win over Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday. Tyler Riemersma led the way with 18 points and 16 rebounds while Jameson Bryan added 17 points and Dylan Lebrun 15.

The Vikings defense held SMSU to just 6.9% shooting from 3-point range and 33.3% overall for the game, proving once again why they are the best defensive team in the league.

Riemersma, the NSIC South Division Player of the Year, is the team leader with 18.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per outing. Joining him in a double digit score are isaac finck (14.8), Adam Dykman (13.0) and LeBrun (11.0). Jameson Bryanthe league’s best playmaker, averages nearly five assists per game and ranks in the top five nationally in assist-to-rotation ratio.

Next Monday

The winner of Monday’s contest will face the winner of Monday’s 11 a.m. match in the NSIC Tournament Championship Game. The 11 a.m. contest pits Minnesota Duluth against Upper Iowa. The NSIC Championship is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday, once again at the Sanford Pentagon.

–GoAugie.com–