Against Upper Iowa, Augustana's coach Tom Billeter did not expect such a game.
In previous meetings, the Vikings and Peacock were known to catch fire on the offensive side of the ball, but Sunday's fight was different.
After all, the season was on the line.
Tyler Reimersma had a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds, and the top-seeded Vikings defended a 65–60 victory over No. 4 seed Upper Iowa in the NCAA Division II Central Region semifinals at the Sanford Pentagon. has been closed. ,
"To catch a team that is aggressively talented by 33 percent for a game, that's how we go," Billeter said. "I've said from day one with this team, we guard and we rebound. If you do those two things, you're going to be involved in most of your games."
The win sends Augustana into Tuesday's championship game, where she will take on third-seeded Northwest Missouri State, with the Elite Eight's journey hanging in the balance.
"I think we will have a big crowd," Reimersma said of Tuesday's game. "The students are coming here on spring break, so I think we should get a lot more crowd for the students. I think it will be big.
"It's a big game for the whole community."
The Vikings lead 33-24 at halftime
Augustana (26-3) trailed early with 12 straight points before taking a 12-4 lead when Adam Dieckmann converted a lay-up in the opening half with 15:30 remaining.
Upper Iowa (26-6) pulled back to within three points when a layup by Joe Smold made it a game 14-11, with 13:57 to go in the half, but it was as close as Peacock was able to get through before halftime.
The Vikings led the visitors to just 32.4 percent (11 out of 34) off the field in the first 20 minutes, including 2 out of 13 (15.4 percent) from a 3-point boundary.
"They're a really good basketball team," Billeter said of Upper Iowa. "I thought our length on the perimeter helped us defensively. To keep a team like this, as good as they are, 3 out of 24 to 4, that's probably the biggest difference in the game. ,
Augie scored the last five points of the period and took the game's biggest lead at the 33-24 break.
But things changed in the second half.
Peacock opened the second half with a 12-4 swing which ended when Jaris Williams sank a pair of free throws at 14:43.
"I thought we defended enough to win the game in the first half," said Upper Iowa coach Brooks McCowen. "We held them in their 30s, and that's our goal. I told them, 'The shots will fall. The basket will go. We're too good not to do it for them. We've done it all year, and we got each other' I trust.'”
However, Oggy never gave up his lead and never allowed Upper Iowa to tie up the rest. Peacock drew four times in the same possession, the last of which came with 5:27 to go into the game when Jake Hilmer was fouled and down three free throws to make it a 54–51 game.
With 1:36 remaining, Smold hit a pair of free throws to pull Peacock to within 64-60, but Augustana's defense kept solid to close the game, with Peacock unable to convert his last five baskets. Were.
One win away from the Augustana Elite 8
Diekmann also had a double-double for the Vikings, finishing with 11 points and 12 boards before fouling out with less than two minutes to spare.
Reimersma also picked up a crucial third foul with 12:26 to play, forcing Billeter to turn to his bench for some much-needed support.
Billeter said he was pleased with what he saw from the benches of Akoi Akoi and Bennett Otto, who provided 15:22 and 11:34 respectively on the floor.
"Give credit to our bench because we had him on the bench longer than I wanted to, but we had to put him on there a little bit," Billeter said. "I wasn't going to bring them back until they got the lead back."
Isaac Fink and Jameson Bryan added 15 and 10 points respectively for Augie, who finished 40.3 percent (25 off 62) off the floor, including a 42.9-percent clip (14 out of 33) in the first half. Vikings shot 13 out of 18 (72.2 percent) with the charity Stripe.
As a team, Augustana defeated Upper Iowa 44–37.
"They are one of the best rebounding teams in the country for a reason," McCowen said of the Vikings. "Remersma is a monster at the bottom, but it wasn't because of our effort in any way. I thought we fought all night. I thought we fought. He's got to find something, that's what he does."
Smoldt had 18 points to lead Peacock, while Hilmer scored 17 points.
Upper Iowa was 18-4 in conference play this year, splitting a pair of matchups against Augustana in the process. This placed the Peacocks second in the NSIC South Division and secured them a spot in the NCAA Division II tournament.
"This group changed our schedule," McCowen said. "We had some good teams before this team came, but they took us to another level."
For Oggy, the focus now turns to Northwest Missouri State, which defeated Washburn 70-55 to reach the finals. The Bearcats are 30-5 on the season and are led by junior guard Trevor Hudgens, who averages 23.0 points per game.
"They have a culture of winning this time of year, and I really respect them for that," Billator said of Northwest Missouri State. "We do too, and I think it's going to be a great basketball game. I'm really looking forward to it. ... I hope we have a great crowd. I think you two Will see the best teams coming together one after the other."