SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A 26-8 run for Augustana University mid-way through the second half led the Vikings to a 91-76 win over University of Minnesota Crookston Sun., Dec. 15 at Sioux Falls Arena in Sioux Falls, S.D. Minnesota Crookston had led by 13 points with 16:43 remaining, before Matt Cartwright spearheaded the big second half for the Vikings.

The Golden Eagles fall to 7-5 (1-3 NSIC) with Saturday's loss at the hands of Augustana. The Vikings moved to 6-3 (3-1 NSIC) with the victory. The Golden Eagles continue on their best start in NCAA Division II history. Minnesota Crookston is still just three wins shy of their school-record 10 wins set last season.

The Golden Eagles finished the 26-of-67 for 38.8 percent from the field. Minnesota Crookston was 10-of-25 for 40.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 14-of-18 for 77.8 percent from the foul line. The Golden Eagles had 10 assists to just six turnovers.

Minnesota Crookston was out-rebounded 49-27 on the game.

The Golden Eagles were led by Harrison Cleary (Jr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.), who had 26 points, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. 19 of his 26 points came in the second half. Ben Juhl (So., G, Clive, Iowa) added 16 points, including 3-of-5 from behind the three-point line. Malcolm Cohen (R-Jr., G/F, Detroit, Mich.) came off the bench for 12 points, while Chase Johnson (R-So., F/C, La Crosse, Wis.) had nine points.

Augustana was guided by 37 points from Cartwright, with 31 of those coming in the second half. Tyler Riemersma added a double-double of 22 points and 18 boards. Trevor Hanson finished with 17 points.
The Vikings were 29-of-61 for the field for 47.5 percent. They were on fire from beyond the arc, where they were 11-of-17 for 64.7 percent. The Vikings missed just one free throw on the day, as they were 22-of-23 for 95.7 percent.

Augustana got out to an 8-5 lead on Minnesota Crookston with a Riemersma basket. Minnesota Crookston countered with a Juhl triple and a pair of Johnson free throws as they took a 10-8 advantage on the Vikings. Augie responded as Trevor Hanson nailed a triple as the Vikings took an 11-10 lead. Minnesota Crookston responded with baskets from Juhl and Cohen to overtake the 14-11 advantage. Dylan LeBrun connected on a triple to knot the game up 14-14. A Cohen jumper put the Golden Eagles ahead 16-14, but the Vikings responded with a Hanson three-pointer as they moved into a 17-16 lead.

Minnesota Crookston came right back as they Johnson drove the base line and completed an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Golden Eagles up 19-17. Augustana utilized a Bryan jumper and a Matt Cartwright triple to take the lead back at 22-19. Minnesota Crookston came right back as Collins nailed a triple to knot the game up 22-22. A Riemersma triple and a pair of Trevor Hanson free throws put the Vikings back on top 27-22 with 5:43 remaining in the first half.

A 9-3 run guided by triples from Cohen and Cleary put the Golden Eagles up 31-30 with 3:08 remaining in the stanza. Augustana countered with a Cartwright three-pointer. Minnesota Crookston came right back with a big response as Cohen found Javier Nicolau (Jr., F/C, Castellon, Spain) for a thunderous dunk to knot the game up 33-33.

A pair of LeBrun free throws put the Vikings back on top 35-33. However, the Golden Eagles closed the stanza on a 4-0 run four-straight points from Cleary as they went into the locker room with a 37-35 lead.
The Golden Eagles shot 13-of-33 for the first half for 39.4 percent. Minnesota Crookston was 5-of-12 from beyond the arc for 41.7 percent and were 6-of-7 for 85.7 percent from the stripe. The Golden Eagles had a very efficient first stanza as they had six assists to just one turnover.

The Golden Eagles were paced by Juhl, who had 11 points, including eight of the first 10 points in the game. Cleary, Cohen, and Johnson each added seven points. Nicolau was key off the bench as he notched two points and three rebounds in just four minutes on the court.

Augustana was 11-of-32 for 34.4 percent in the opening half. The Vikings shot 7-of-10 from behind the three-point line for 70 percent. They were 6-of-6 from the foul line. Augustana was guided by 11 points and 11 boards from Riemersma. Hanson came off the bench for 11 points. The Vikings out-rebounded Minnesota Crookston 24-17. The Golden Eagles also forced eight first-half turnovers for Augustana.
The Golden Eagles opened the second half on an 8-2 run guided by five points from Cleary and a three-pointer from Juhl. A Knickerbocker trey extended the run to 11-2 run for the Golden Eagles as they took a 48-37 advantage. A pair of Cleary free throws moved the rally to 13-2 for Minnesota Crookston.

Augustana finally halted the run with a Cartwright jumper and started a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 50-43 on a Cartwright jumper. Cohen stopped the run as he hit a jumper for Minnesota Crookston to put the Golden Eagles ahead 52-43. Cartwright utilized another bucket, to go with a Tayton Vincent lay-up as the Vikings cut the deficit to 52-47 with 13:53 left in the game.

Knickerbocker halted the run with a floater as Minnesota Crookston extended their lead to 54-47. Augustana again responded led by five more points from Cartwright as they would trail just 54-52 with 12:37 remaining in the game. The Vikings would take over the lead 55-54 as Cartwright hit three free throws.

Johnson put Minnesota Crookston back ahead 56-55. However, Augustana came right back with three-pointers from Cartwright and Riemersma as the Vikings went ahead 61-56. Cartwright extended the lead to 63-56 on a jumper for Augustana.

The Vikings would go on a 26-8 run during the eight-minute stretch. Augustana was led during the run by 19 points from Cartwright.

Minnesota Crookston came back with a Smith basket and a Cohen trey to trim the deficit down to 65-63 with under seven minutes remaining in the game. Augustana pushed the lead back out to four at 67-63 with a pair of Michael Schaefer free throws.

The Golden Eagles held strong and were able to take the lead down to 67-66 after free throws from Cleary and Knickerbocker. Augie extended their lead out to five after a Riemersma bucket and a pair of Vincent free throws pushed the game to 71-66 with 4:42 left.

The Golden Eagles came back with a Cleary jumper to cut the lead to 71-68. On the other end, Johnson picked up a big steal. The turnover helped lead to pair of Cleary free throws as Minnesota Crookston cut the Augie lead to 71-70 with 3:59 left in the game.

The Vikings responded on their half as Cartwright converted an old-fashioned three-point play to extend the advantage to 74-70. A pair of Hanson free throws moved the lead out to 76-70 with 3:33 remaining.
Cleary responded with a crucial three on the other end to cut the deficit to 76-73. However, a Hanson jumper and a Riemersma transition hoop pushed the lead back out to 80-73 for the Vikings.

Cleary hit another big three-pointer for the Golden Eagles to cut the lead to 80-76 with 2:01 left in the game. Cartwright countered with a crucial jumper to push the lead out to 82-76 with 1:28 left in the game.
Augustana was able to ice the game with a pair of LeBrun free throws. The Vikings would win the tilt 91-76.

Minnesota Crookston returns to action at Wayne State College (Neb.) Sun., Dec. 16 at 2:30 p.m.