The formerly undefeated Augustana Vikings and undefeated Dubuque Spartans clashed in a back-and-forth matchup on Saturday, Nov. 22, with the Spartans leaving with a 4-0 record and the Vikings going back to the drawing board with their perfect season being spoiled early with an 88-82 loss.
From the start, the game looked like it would end in the Spartans walking off the court with yet another blowout win, their third in a row, as they jumped out to a 14-4 lead early. Thanks to a 9-0 run three minutes into the game, the Vikings were forced to burn a timeout to come together and figure out a plan of attack, specifically on the defensive end.
The Vikings knew what they were going up against, as the Spartans came into the matchup averaging 93.3 points per game, ranking 17th among DIII schools in the nation. That level of offense is tough to scheme against. But, heading into Saturday’s game, sophomore breakout star for the Vikings, Jake Willems, as well as his teammates, knew what they were up against and what they needed to do to put a halt to their scoring.
“Dubuque is a great scoring team, and I think after going over scout and looking at their team, we really just need all five of our guys to not only play defense, but finish off plays by getting defensive rebounds,” Willems said. “That’s one of the biggest things we focused on, and I think we also do a good job forcing [opponents] into tough shots, which is what we want.”
After that timeout, the Vikings came out firing, cutting into the ten-point deficit, rattling off an 8-0 run of their own over the next minute of play to get themselves back into the game. After that run, it certainly seemed like no team could pull away.
Dubuque would answer quickly, ballooning the lead to seven, but Augustana never wavered. No team would be able to grab a lead larger than that for the remainder of the game.
A back-and-forth ensued between the two teams to close out the first half, with the Spartans clinging on to a 45-43 lead as the two teams headed to the locker room to prepare for what was shaping up to be an electric second half between two hungry programs.
The Vikings, coming off a win against Hamline University in which they blew a 14-point lead in the second half before ultimately coming away with a three-point win, wanted to come out and prove they could put together a competitive second half, dispelling any concerns the previous game had raised. Another breakout star for the Vikings, redshirt First-Year Andre Klaver, said that, despite their win against Hamline not being perfect, that “grind-it-out” style of basketball is how this program operates.
“Our basketball team is a tale of two halves, and we have to keep working together to put those two together,” Klaver said. “[Hamline] was a good team, and we tip our hat to them, but we called a timeout with two minutes to go. And we knew that it was winning time, so we had to figure out a way to get it done. I think it’s a testament to our team, coaches and players all-around, just being able to keep our cool, even though we have a younger group. Finding a way to stay composed and get that game won.”
The Vikings faced some second-half challenges early, as the Spartans pulled away with a seven-point lead, but right when they needed it, that composure became apparent. Defensive stops turned into scoring plays, and that lead vanished as the Vikings took their first lead of the game with 13 minutes left between them and a 4-0 start.
But the Spartans are undefeated for a reason, and that lead would be short-lived as the teams would exchange the lead seven more times before it was all said and done. The game reached its climax with three minutes remaining, as four lead changes would occur in those final minutes.
There are many factors the team could place the blame on for this loss, and in his postgame interview, Augustana Head Coach Jordan Delp made sure those points were emphasized.
“Well, we got 82 [points], so offensively we were pretty good,” Delp said. “Defensively, we can’t win games when we give up 88 points, and we’re spread out and not doing what we’re supposed to do. We fought, we played tip to buzzer, we didn’t give up, but if we don’t start executing with more consistency, we’re going to be in these types of battles more than we like, and it’s going to look like that. We have to get back to work, and we have to execute our assignments with more consistency.”
Delp’s frustration was palpable, and that frustration rang out through the arena as fans left following the Vikings’ impressive, but nonetheless heartbreaking loss. But the Vikings can’t hang their head for too long as they prepare to travel to Platteville, WI, to take on a talented UW-Platteville team on Tuesday, Nov. 25.
