Sanford Pentagon Basketball Showcase to debut in November

Augustana College, Northern State University, the University of Central Missouri and Missouri Western State University will compete in a four-game showcase on Nov. 9 and 10. 

All games will all be played on the Pentagon’s Heritage Court. On Nov. 9, NSU plays UCM at 4 p.m., and Augustana faces MWSU at 6 p.m. NSU and MWSU will meet at 2 p.m. on Nov. 10, while Augustana and UCM finish the showcase at 4 p.m.

The Sanford Pentagon Basketball Showcase begins a day after the University of Wisconsin’s regular-season contest against St. John’s University (NY) at the Pentagon.

Augustana and NSU are both members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, while UCM and MWSU compete in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

“Basketball enthusiasts in this region should be excited for November at the Pentagon,” said Eric Larsen, general manager of the Sanford Sports Complex. “These four Division II games fill out an incredibly competitive and entertaining stretch of basketball at our new facility, and fans will have the chance to see familiar teams and some visiting Sioux Falls for the first time.”

Augustana, which finished the 2012-13 season 22-9, and UCM, a 22-8 team last season, both qualified for the NCAA tournament last year. NSU compiled a 20-11 mark, and MWSU was 10-17.

The Pentagon is scheduled to open in September and will hold a series of grand opening events throughout October and November for the Sioux Falls community. The facility is part of the Sanford Sports Complex located along Westport Avenue between Benson Road and West 54th Street in Sioux Falls.  The 162-acre complex is the home of the Sanford Fieldhouse and nine Junior Football fields. The Sioux Falls Ice Sports Association has announced plans to construct the Scheels IcePlex, and the Sioux Falls Tennis Association is also working to build a venue on site.