Box Score
MANKATO, MN. – Magical seasons don’t last forever. The Upper Iowa men’s basketball team, which was playing in its first ever NCAA Division II Regional Tournament, collided with an unmovable object on Saturday afternoon. The Augustana Vikings used a lethal inside-outside attack to knock the Peacocks out of the postseason with a 79-65 victory inside Minnesota State’s Taylor Center.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Head Coach Brian Dolan said. “They grinded – it wasn’t our game, but they grinded. That’s how they’ve been all year and I didn’t expect any different from them tonight. I’m proud of the effort they put forward.”
The Peacocks, who were making their first appearance in the Division II Regional, had never won a Northern Sun playoff game before this season either, but this year’s team changed all that during their magical postseason run. After winning back-to-back playoff games in the NSIC/Sanford Health Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Peacocks were admitted to a rare club – regional tournament qualifiers.
But that run also came to an end on Saturday.
“It wasn’t the outcome that we wanted, but we always talk about getting beat the same way you win,” Dolan said. “I think our guys played with the same effort and heart tonight just like we would have if we won the game.”
The Peacocks were playing from behind from the onset of Saturday's contest, but never showed signs of quitting.
Besides an opening-minute bucket from Casey Schilling, the Vikings’ offense went through 6-foot-9 freshman Zach Huisken, who earned seven of his team’s first nine points in the opening four minutes.
On the other end,
Tucker Wentzien struggled to match Huisken’s offensive prowess in the first half going 0-for-3 from the floor and 2-of-6 from the free throw line. Instead, the Peacocks found an offensive spark in
Bo Pagel, who recorded a career-high 16 points in the first half alone.
“Bo comes out and hits back-to-back threes and we crawled back in the game with three or four minutes left in the first half,” Dolan said. “But let’s be honest – the wildcard was that kid named McCaffrey on the other team. There’s a reason why he’s All-League and the all-time leading scorer at Augie, he’s just a great basketball player. He put the team on his back tonight.”
McCaffrey had 14 first half points on 4-of-10 shooting, while converting 5-of-6 free throw attempts. The Peacocks were forced into catch-up mode thanks to McCaffrey's hot hand, which ultimately hurt them in the long run.
“They got us chasing them to the perimeter and that’s why they got some straight-line drives to the basket,” Dolan said. “We had to rotate hard and I think that was the difference in tonight’s game compared to three weeks ago. They weren’t making those shots from deep. They made them today and that’s why they’re playing tomorrow night and we’re going home.”
The Peacocks shot just 33-percent in the first half, but managed to keep the game close thanks to 5-of-10 shooting from three.
Trailing 11-6 with 14 minutes left in the opening half,
David Smith drove the lane and found Pagel for his first of four three-pointers in the opening period. On the next possession, Smith drove again, this time though, he found
Jake Shonka who converted the layup in traffic.
Despite the Peacocks’ 5-0 run to cut into the Augie lead, the Vikings took the next five minutes to spur an 11-5 run.
Pagel was reinserted into the lineup and responded with back-to-back treys from the right wing to pull UIU within three, 22-19, with 7:39 remaining in the first half. After a Schilling tip-in, the Peacocks converted three straight free throw attempts to come as close as they would all night – 24-22, with six minutes left in the opening period.
The Vikings went back to McCaffrey who responded with six points and two assists in the final six minutes of the period to help the Vikings take a 41-31 lead into halftime.
“I thought he was in complete control of the game from start to finish,” Dolan said of McCaffrey.
With 22 points in the paint in the first half, the Vikings wasted no time going back there in the second period as Daniel Jansen converted a hook shot in the paint to put the Vikings up by 12 points. After the Peacocks failed to answer on the offensive end, Jansen struck again, this time from deep to give Augie a 48-33 lead less than two minutes into the second stanza.
Sam Elgin, who sat on the bench for most of the first half thanks to foul trouble, started to heat up in the second period. The senior finished second on the team with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
“He didn’t play a whole lot,” Dolan said. “They did a great job getting him in foul trouble and he can’t score a whole lot [on the bench]. He did some good things for us in the second half, like you’d expect Sam to do. It would have been nice to have him out there the whole game.”
Despite Elgin’s play, the Vikings’ lead ballooned to 17 points after an Evan Pierce layup at the 12:45 mark in the second half, but UIU didn’t give in.
Pagel drove the lane and converted a layup in traffic before Elgin connected on a turn-around jumper and Wentzien capped the run with a three-point play. UIU was back within ten with just over ten minutes left in the game.
Augie struck again. This time, it was a 7-0 run in just over a minute and a half and the Peacocks failed to muster enough offense to cut into the Vikings’ double-digit lead, which held throughout the second period.
“We talked about getting off to an aggressive start all week,” Dolan said. “I think we had a good start, but when those shots don’t go down, you teeter back and you’re a little hesitant. We were trying to be perfect.”
Pagel was as close to perfect as he’s been all year, going 4-of-6 from three and totaling a career-high 19 points in 34 minutes of play.
“We always knew we could be a good team, but I never thought that’d we would be able to make it to the NCAA Tournament and play like that,” Pagel said. “It just starts with our group of seniors. Our five seniors are tremendous leaders and some of the most talented players I’ve ever been around.”
Wentzien, who finished his four-year career with 1,269 points which ranks 12th in all-time scoring at UIU, was one of five seniors who played in their final game for the Peacocks on Saturday afternoon.
“Every year we’re building to something new,” he said about the program at Upper Iowa. “This whole year we’ve elevated our play, but we’ve also built on what all the past Upper Iowa basketball players have done for us. I feel great about this year. I have high hopes that Bo and all the younger guys will lead them back here next year.”
The Peacocks magical 2012-13 season came to an end on Saturday, but there are many who think the Peacocks could be back in postseason action next year.
“Overall, this year has been a blessing for us and Upper Iowa,” Pagel concluded.
