Augie Holiday Classic

[DanceswithRabbits]

Augie is hosting their own classic at the Elmen Center. if you can call anything hosted at their high school gym a classic. Augie lost to Minnesota-Duluth 94-78. That drops the Dogies to 2-8 and raises UMD to 6-4. USD beat Minnesota State-Moorhead 105-77. USD is now 9-1, while MSU-Moorhead drops to 6-4. Tonight the teams switch partners. Augie vs MSU-M, USD vs UM-D.

[jackmd]

Re: Augie Holiday Classic

UMD 110 USD 101 in OT at the Augie Holiday Classic. Way to go Coyotes :-[!! Keep making the NCC proud!!

I have seen UMD play twice this year and they are NOT a team that should beat the upper tier of teams in the NCC. I am aware that they have defeated UND and Metro St. but I think this says more about UND and Metro than it does UMD.

Jacks women are handling Bemidji St, up by 20 at the half, GO JACKS. I hope the men come out with some intensity (unlike the Vikings).

What about that Viking game? Should Tice be fired? Not a question for this forum but something for discussion elsewhere.

[filbert]

Re: Augie Holiday Classic

Plenty of time to gloat after the season . . . for now, just keep winning, Rabbits . . .

[filbert]

Re: Augie Holiday Classic

And, except possibly for SDSU, I'm not sure that the NCC has an upper tier this year. Augie is just plain bad. NDSU is real shaky. UND hasn't really shown anything, either. MSU-M, SCSU, USD, UNO all have stumbled, and even SDSU almost (and arguably should have) lost vs. Concordia-St. Paul.

[DanceswithRabbits]

Re: Augie Holiday Classic

Augie lost again and in front of a tiny crowd (watched the highlights on KELO).  I agree with filbert, the NCC looks to be having a down year.  We will still have some tough games but if we take care of business we should leave the NCC as the Champions!

Here is the Argus story on the Dogies:

Moorhead preys on weak Augustana team defense
Mick Garry
Argus Leader

published: 12/29/2003

The Augustana men seized momentum for extended minutes after a slow start Sunday night, but spent a limited time with the lead. It was the work of a team that has its heart in the right place, but not much else quite yet.

The 91-83 loss to Minnesota State-Moorhead in the final game of the Augustana Holiday Classic at the Elmen Center was the team's sixth consecutive defeat.

The Vikings led 4-2 midway through the second minute against the Dragons, but were down 15-4 after four minutes. They erased that deficit completely in the second half, though never by more than a shot and never for more than a minute.

First-year Augustana coach Tom Billeter emphatically praised his team's effort and resolve in the loss, but he was just as emphatic in pointing out the shortcomings.

"I can explain our biggest problem here in about one second," he said. "We can't guard anybody. In the second half against UMD on Saturday, they shot 67 percent. Tonight, Moorhead State shot 66 percent. That's three consecutive halves of basketball where the other team is making two-thirds their shots."

The Dragons helped keep the Vikings in contention by giving up the ball. They committed 13 turnovers in the first half and finished with 20, but the Vikings had problems of their own in that regard, coughing up the ball at the wrong times in the waning minutes.

It was 50-50 with 15:20 to play after Moorhead State's Deandre Buchanan slammed home a dunk. With 14:23 left, the Dragons' Chris Anderson followed with a 3-pointer to give the visitors a lead they never gave up.

That didn't mean the Vikings didn't threaten. A Nick Olson free throw with 6:34 left narrowed the gap to 69-67, but the Dragons came back with a desperation banker high off the glass from Buchanan to beat the possession clock for a 71-67 edge.

The Vikings were led by Justin VanMeeteren for the second consecutive night. He scored 25 points. Senior Jon Wagner added 14, with freshman Olson scoring 13, followed by freshman Joey Ryan with 11.

It was a career-high effort for Olson, a 6-6 forward from Eden Prairie, Minn.

"It's nice to build some confidence, but I'd feel a lot better about it if it was coming in games we were winning," Olson said. "That hasn't happened yet, but it will, and I think it's going to be this year."

The Dragons (7-4) had five players in double-figures while hitting 31-of-47 shots from the field. Anderson had 25, hitting all five of his 3-point attempts.

"We have a defensive philosophy in place and we work on it extensively every practice," Billeter said. "But we're not taking it on to the court the way we should be. I think our freshmen are picking it up, but it's tougher for the seniors who've been in a different system, some of them for four years."

The Vikings play Augsburg on Tuesday and Dakota Wesleyan on Jan. 3 before opening North Central Conference play against Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 9 at the Elmen Center.

"Our seniors are doing a great job of working hard and keeping their heads up," Billeter said. "They're making the freshmen work hard. I went into that locker room tonight and I told them all I wasn't giving up. Neither is anyone else. We have a whole new season coming up. If we learn how to defend a little, we'll be competitive."  

[DanceswithRabbits]

Re: Augie Holiday Classic

Here is the Argus story on USD's second loss. Not much to add except, he he he. My favorite teams are SDSU and whoever is playing USD!

Duluth edges Coyote men in overtime
Mick Garry
Argus Leader

published: 12/29/2003

USD can't hold its 10-point advantage

The University of South Dakota's 10-point lead with 3:26 to play didn't work out Sunday night. Neither did the ensuing overtime period.

The end result was a 110-101 men's basketball victory for Minnesota-Duluth on the second day of the Augustana Holiday Classic at the Elmen Center.

The Bulldogs (7-4), who will join the North Central Conference next season, hit some huge shots to first force overtime, and then to win it.

None was bigger than Dusty Decker's 24-footer with eight seconds to play that completed the Bulldog comeback and sent the game to overtime. Decker, who spent his redshirt year at USD five years ago, finished with 22 points,

"A little luck is always going to enter into a game like this," said UMD coach Gary Halquist. "We were able to hit some tough shots in some key situations."

In overtime, the Bulldogs continued to do the same. With 2:38 left in OT, Decker hit another long 3-pointer to give UMD a 104-97 edge.

The Coyotes did not get within a shot of the lead thereafter.

The Coyotes (9-2), ranked No. 5 in Division II, had previously lost only to Northern State. The Bulldogs (7-4), dropped their first three games of the season, but started Sunday having won six of their last seven.

There was some head-shaking going on in the Coyotes' locker room, but there was also acknowledgement that UMD had put together a top effort.

"We played great to get the lead," USD coach Dave Boots said. "We had a couple tough turnovers, but you have to give UMD a lot of credit. They hit a lot of tough shots, a lot of deep 3's."

The Bulldogs hit 18 of 43 3-point attempts, including three in the last two minutes. USD, meanwhile, hit 10-of-32 with an 0-for-6 performance in overtime.

"It's better to go through something like this now than it would be later," said USD senior Tommie King, who scored 26 points. "We can learn from it. We had a chance to put them away and we didn't do it. Then we let up down the stretch."

Leading 93-90, UMD guard Matt Williams stole the ball in the backcourt and converted a layup to make it 93-92 with 21 seconds left. After USD's Vincent McGill converted a pair of free throws with 14 seconds to play, Decker followed with a bomb that permanently secured the momentum if not the game.

"They're a very physical, hard-working team," said USD's Josh Mueller, who scored 21 points but hit just 3-of-14 on 3-pointers. "We let up defensively at a time when we couldn't afford to do that."

The Coyotes trailed 46-40 at half, but quickly took control in the opening minutes of the second half. A McGill 3-pointer with 10:26 left gave USD a 70-67 lead. The Coyotes went on to score 10 of the next 12 points, going up 80-69 with a drive by Mueller with 5:31 left.

A 3-pointer by UMD's John Emerson, a reserve guard who finished with 28 points, made it 87-84 with 1:56 to play, setting up the tight finish.

The Bulldogs, with a roster dominated by freshmen and sophomores, proved they'll be ready for the NCC next year after defeating Augustana and USD on consecutive days.

"It's a great conference from top to bottom," Halquist said. "We see it as an honor to be playing in this conference next year. The coaches, the game management - everything about it is done at a high level. We're looking forward to being a part of it."

[jackmd]

Re: Augie Holiday Classic

43 and 32 3-point attempts!!! Give me a break. Run some offense and take a higher percentage shot. Live by the 3, die by the 3.

[filbert]

Re: Augie Holiday Classic

When did I know this SDSU team was really good?  When they gave up 14 3-pointers to UMD and Bemidji, and still won relatively easily.