Box Score Sioux Falls, S.D. --- It was certainly a tale of two halves for the 21st-ranked Minnesota State men’s basketball team at Elmen Center Friday night. They may have started the game slow, but the Mavericks rallied in the second half to take a 60-48 victory at Augustana.

With the win, the Mavericks improved to 9-1, with a 5-1 record in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, while the Vikings fell to 8-2, with a 4-2 mark in conference play.

The second half saw MSU cut into Augustana’s small lead that it held at the end of the first half. Junior Jimmy Whitehead gave the Mavericks their first lead on the contest at 31-30 after a lay in with 14:50 left in the second half. MSU would not trail the rest of the way as it outscored the Vikings 29-18 en route to a 60-48 victory.

“This was a very important win for us on the road,” head coach Matt Margenthaler said. “Our defensive effort in the second half is what propelled us to victory tonight.”

While the Maverick offense was clicking in the second half, the Augustana offense could not seem to get things together as the Vikings managed just 19 points to the Mavericks 37. MSU shot 44.4 percent from the field in the second half, while the Vikings struggled shooting just 11.4 percent.

Junior Gage Wooten did most of his damage in the second half as tallied 13 of his career-high 19 points. Junior Jimmy Whitehead also reached double-digits in points with 13, while junior Connor O'Brien led the team in rebounds with 10.

Cameron McCaffrey paced the Viking offense with 15 points, while Alex Richter notched a team-high eight rebounds.

The first half saw Augustana lead throughout as the Vikings led by as many as 10 points during the first session. Joe Burt did most of the damage for the Vikings as he added in seven points, while five other Augustana players chipped in four points each.

Augustana worked its way to a 10-point lead at the 14:51 mark behind a layup from McCaffrey. MSU worked it back into single digits and kept it there through the remainder of the first half as the Mavericks pulled to within six at 29-23 heading into the locker room.  

The Mavericks were paced by Wooten in the first half as he added six points, while shooting 3-of-4 from the field. Whooten also chipped in with a team-leading four first half rebounds as well.

The Mavericks (9-1, 5-1 NSIC) wrap up their two-game road trip Saturday as they take on Wayne State at 6 p.m.
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