by Anthony Schnabel

schnabelan@mnstate.edu

The Dragons men’s basketball team battled its way to the NSIC championship again this year, but ran into the red hot Augustana Vikings, losing 89-76. The Dragons are now 30-5 and will prepare for the Central Region tournament.

MSUM shot 51.8 percent from the field and was led by junior guard Aaron Lien, who scored a career-high 31 points, and senior center Isaac Sevlie, who totaled 17 points. Junior Ayob Ayob and Ngijol Songolo both missed the game due to injuries.

With just under four minutes left, the Dragons were within two points of Augustana, but the Vikings ended the game on a 13-2 run.  Auggie received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with the win.

Sevlie, Lien and sophomore guard Tanner Kretchman were chosen for the all-tournament team after posting stout numbers throughout the week. The Dragons hold the three seed in the Central Region poll and are expected to return to the tournament they were champions of a year ago.