No. 1 seed Augustana University men’s basketball defeated No. 2 seed Northwest Missouri State University (27-6) 80-78 at the Sanford Pentagon Tuesday night in the NCAA Central Region Championship to advance to the Elite Eight in Frisco, Texas March 23-26.
Augustana will be making its first ever appearance in the Elite Eight after winning the program’s first ever NCAA Region Championship. The Vikings improve to 31-2 on the season with the win, tying the program record for wins in a season which was previously set in 2014-15.
Sophomore guard Jordan Spencer hit two free throws with 4.6 seconds left to give Augustana an 80-78 lead and John Warren came up with a huge steal on Northwest Missouri State’s inbound pass to seal the victory for the Vikings. Northwest Missouri State’s Justin Pitts scored five straight points for the Bearcats to tie the game at 78 with 27 seconds remaining in the game giving the Vikings the chance to hold for the last shot. Spencer drove to his right to the hoop and was fouled hard with 4.6 seconds left. Officials went to the monitor to review the foul for a flagrant but it was ruled just a shot foul. Spencer knocked down the two free throws and Warren stepped in front of a pass to NWMSU’s Conner Crooker and swatted the ball into Casey Schilling’s hands. Schilling tossed the ball into the air in celebration and the Vikings took home the region title in front of a home crowd. Augustana finished the game shooting 54.8 percent from the field after shooting 48 percent in the first half. Northwest Missouri State shot a blistering 60.4 percent from the field but the Vikings stretched their lead at the free throw line knocking down 23 of 28 attempts from the line.
