Augustana men ousted from NSIC basketball tournament

By Matt Zimmer

February 23, 2023 at 9:32 AM

SIOUX FALLS — The Augustana men's basketball team saw their season end Wednesday night, Feb. 22, in the first round of the NSIC tournament, as the Vikings were eliminated 92-88 by Bemidji State in Bemidji.

Augustana finishes the year 15-14. The Beavers improve to 19-10 and advance to the quarterfinals at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.

The Vikings shot 55 percent from the floor and got 27 points from Jadan Graves and 24 from senior Ryan Miller in his final career game, but the Augie defense couldn't make it stand. Bemidji State shot 61 percent from the floor in the game and got 28 points and nine rebounds from John Sutherland, who was 12-of-15 from the field. Mohamed Kone played all 40 minutes for the Beavers and had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Women
CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 62, MSU-MOORHEAD 50 in Moorhead, Minn. - The Golden Bears held the Dragons to 18 first-half points to build a big lead and held on for the win to advance to Sioux Falls.
Raegan Alexander and Ally Gietzel had 19 points each for CSP (14-13), while Mariah McKeever had 21 points for MSU (14-13).

NORTHERN STATE 63, UPPER IOWA 49 in Aberdeen - The Wolves outscored the Peacocks 20-6 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win to advance to the quarterfinals.

Kailee Oliverson had a monster game for the Wolves (18-11), scoring a career-high 34 points to go with 17 rebounds. With the win, the Wolves will face Augustana on Sunday at the Pentagon. The Vikings (24-4) are ranked 5th in the latest Division II regional rankings. The top eight teams in each region earn an NCAA tournament berth.

The Wayne State at Mary game scheduled for Wednesday has been rescheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. at the Stewart Center on the USF campus.

Saturday's schedule has also been altered due to the rescheduled games in the tournament so far. See the updated schedule below.

REMAINING SCHEDULE
Women
Friday
Wayne State vs. Mary at USF
Quarterfinals (Sanford Pentagon)
Saturday
Concordia-St. Paul vs Minnesota Duluth 11 a.m.
Wayne State/Mary vs MSU-Mankato, 7 p.m.
Sunday
Augustana vs. Northern State, 11 a.m.
St. Cloue State vs. SMSU, 1:30 p.m.
Semifinals
Monday, 11 a.m. & 1:30 p.m.
Championship
Tuesday, 4 p.m.

Men
Quarterfinals (Sanford Pentagon)
Saturday
Bemidji State vs. Wayne State, 1:30 p.m.
Minot State vs. Northern State, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday
Upper Iowa vs. Minnesota Duluth, 4:30 p.m.
MSU-Moorhead vs. USF, 7 p.m.
Semifinals
Monday, 4:30 & 7:30 p.m.
Championship
Tuesday, 7 p.m.

By Matt Zimmer

Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, began a long career in amateur baseball and started working as a sports freelancer. Zimmer was hired as a sport reporter at the Argus Leader in 2004, where he covered Sioux Falls high schools and colleges before moving to the South Dakota State University beat in 2014.

Augustana men ousted from NSIC basketball tournament

Quarterfinal rounds for men and women start Saturday at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls.