gophers/ncaa

area basketball

Concordia loses, MSU wins

Augustana used a 17-0 run to overcome an early deficit and beat Concordia (St. Paul) 78-66 on Friday in the NCAA Division II Central Region quarterfinals in Topeka, Kan. The No. 21-rated Golden Bears (23-7) took an 18-8 lead in the first six-plus minutes, but No. 24 Augustana (25-6) responded with its big run.

“Augustana did a great job and I was impressed with their patience,” Concordia coach Paul Fessler said. “They shot better than they have in the past against us — Augustana is flat-out the best team in the league. They are putting it all together right now, and I don’t know if I’d want to play them tomorrow.”

Whiting led the Golden Bears with 15 points, Rachel Hansen had 12 points. Post player Alex Feeney had 20 points with seven rebounds for Augustana.

• MINNESOTA STATE MANKATO 72, ARKANSAS TECH 38: Ali Wilkinson had 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Mavericks (26-5) beat the Golden Suns (23-7) in the other Central Region quarterfinal in Topeka. Roselis Silva had 24 points for Tech, which was within 27-24 at halftime. MSU Mankato shot only 32.8 percent, including 4-for-21 on three-pointers, but outrebounded Tech 49-31.

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