Huskies Comeback Falls Short in 71-69 Loss to Vikings

Friday, January 3

St. Cloud, MN

7:30 P.M.

St. Cloud State

8-7,4-3NSIC

Augustana

6-8,3-5NSIC

Augustana (SD)

St. Cloud St.

1/4/2025 12:27:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Augustana snaps St. Cloud State’s three-game win streak

St. Cloud, Minn.- St. Cloud State Men's Basketball (8-7, 4-3 NSIC) had their three-game winning streak snapped with a narrow 71-69 loss to Augustana Friday evening. The first five minutes of the game were tightly contested, but Augustana slowly built up a seven-point lead. The Huskies started to gain momentum as Nate Dahl cashed a three as the shot clock expired while getting fouled at the 14:36 mark of the first half. Dahl converted the free throw as the Huskies worked their way to a two-point deficit after a layup by Vance Peiffer. The teams continued to battle as a three by Nathan Bunkosky cut the deficit to one-point, but the Vikings brought the lead back up to six points after an 8-2 run. Augustana continued to extend their lead as they led 34-24 with 5:57 left in the half. The Huskies were able to chip away in the final minutes of the half, but Augustana ultimately led 48-37 going into halftime. The Huskies were aggressive all half attacking the rim as they got to the line 22 times and converted 18 of those attempts. St. Cloud State defensively came out of the break energetic as they held the Vikings scoreless for the three minutes of the half. During that stretch, SCSU brought the game back within five points as they continued their aggressive offensive play. From that initial stretch of the half, the teams stalemated for almost the entire half. Augustana could never blow the game open as the Huskies had an answer for every run by the Vikings. With Augustana leading by five points with 3:24 remaining, Luke Winkel finished inside to cut the deficit to three. SCSU strung together two stops as on their offensive possession following the second stop, Dahl drove inside, took contact, and finished a layup while getting fouled. Dahl tied the game at 68 by converting the and-one opportunity with 2:01 left in the game. The defense continued to be stout for the Huskies as they forced two more misses. Lee Marks III came away with a big defensive rebound and was fouled in the process, sending him to the line. Marks made his first attempt to give St. Cloud State the lead with 41 second remaining but missed his second attempt. With now 21 seconds left, Augustana got the lead back after a layup by Akoi Akoi. SCSU called a timeout, now having an opportunity to win the game. Out of the timeout, Winkel had a baseline drive where he dumped it down to Wyatt Hawks with five seconds left who had his layup attempt blocked by Akoi. The Huskies fouled Augustana with two seconds left where Malyk Rebetez missed his first attempt, but made the second to give the Vikings a 71-69 lead. SCSU again called a timeout, but would need to travel the full length of the court to potentially tie or win the game. On the opposite baseline, Winkel inbounded to Dahl who had gathered a head of steam. Dahl took a few dribbles to get past halfcourt before he fired a shot just outside the halfcourt line. His shot to win the game narrowly missed as he hit the back rim as time expired. St. Cloud State would ultimately lose 69-71, snapping their three-game winning streak.

Top Huskies

Nate Dahl recorded his first career double-double as he tallied 22 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Dahl was aggressive all night and got to the line 10 times, making all 10 of his attempts. This was the second straight game for Dahl where he has scored 20+ points and fourth game this season.
Luke Winkel tallied his third straight game scoring in double-figures as he notched 15 points and dished four assists. Like Dahl, Winkel was aggressive and got to the line 10 times, making nine of those attempts. This was Winkel's sixth game this season dishing 4+ assists.
Lee Marks III scored eight points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds. Marks also made a career-high six free throws while playing a career-high 29 minutes.

Notables

St. Cloud State is now 48-46 all-time against Augustana.
The Huskies led the game in free throw makes (30-18), rebounds (41-30), offensive rebounds (13-5), second chance points (8-2), and bench points (28-19).
Wyatt Hawks tied his career-high in rebounds with 13 while scoring three points. This was the fourth game this season where Hawks has grabbed 10+ rebounds.
Lucas Morgan scored nine points while shooting 3-4 from the field and making his lone three-point attempt. Morgan has cashed eight of his past 11 three-point attempts spanning the past three games.
Anish Ramlall totaled five points and two assists and rebounds in the game.

Up Next
St. Cloud State will be back in action tomorrow as they host Wayne State at 5:30. For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Basketball, stay tuned to scsuhuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.