Mankato, Minn. – Augustana’s Cameron McCaffrey hit a floating jumper from the right baseline with eight seconds remaining to guide the 19^th-ranked Vikings to a 72-71 victory over Minnesota State in an epic Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference contest.

The game was witnessed by a season-high 4,012 fans, the fourth-largest crowd in Taylor Center history.  The loss also snapped MSU’s 16-game home winning streak, the second-longest in Taylor Center history.

“We didn’t make enough plays down the stretch,” said head coach Matt Margenthaler.  “This game was identical to the type of contest we will face in the NCAA tournament.  We have to learn and grow from this and get ready for a tough University of Mary team Saturday afternoon.

The Mavericks and Augustana traded leads throughout much of the first half as the Vikings built their biggest lead at 17-11 at the 10:54 mark.  Minnesota State regained the lead when senior guard Jermain Davis hit a jumper.  The Mavericks maintained a lead for the rest of the half, taking a 34-28 lead into the break.

Minnesota State maintained a two-possession advantage for the first three minutes of the second half until Augustana went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 42. 

After that both teams traded scores on back-to-back possessions before MSU used a 9-0 run highlighted by a dunk from senior center Travis Nelson and a three-pointer from junior guard Marcus Hill, which pushed the score to 57-48 with 10:03 remaining. 

Augustana stormed back with a 12-3 run to cut the Maverick lead to 61-60 with five minutes to go before Hill drained a three point basket from the right wing to open a four-point advantage with 4:38 remaining. 

From that point on the two teams traded two ties and three lead changes leading up to McCaffrey’s heroics.

Nelson led MSU with 19 points and nine rebounds, while junior wing Jefferson Mason scored 16 points and hauled in eight rebounds.  Hill added 13 and Davis contributed 10 for the Mavericks. 

Senior guard Jesse Clark passed out five assists for MSU who finished the game shooting 41.7 percent from the floor and 58.6 percent from the free throw line.

Augustana was led in scoring by McCaffrey’s 21 points.