BOX SCORE

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana College men's basketball led by as much as 24 points in the second half but Presentation College made it an eight-point game with 1:48 to play but the Vikings would hold on to defeat the Saints 78-69 on Saturday night at the Elmen Center.

The Vikings (5-0) shot a season-low 39 percent from the field but picked up their fifth straight win before opening NSIC play against Wayne State College on Monday night at Sioux Falls Arena.
 
Tonight's game was an exhibition contest for Presentation College (3-0).
 
The Vikings finished the game 25 of 64 from the field and shot just 37 percent in the second half, hitting 3 of 12 from 3-point range. Augustana was just 7 of 23 (30 percent) from behind the arc on the night. Augustana dominated the glass with five players grabbing six or more rebounds, led by Adam Beyer who picked up a career-high nine boards to go along with eight points and four assists.
 
Casey Schilling led all players with 21 points on the night while grabbing eight rebounds. Alex Richter pitched in with 19 points and six rebounds and Daniel Jansen added 15 points and six boards. Jordan Spencer was 5 of 8 from the field for the Vikings and finished with 13 points and three assists.
 
Augustana built a five-point lead in an evenly played first four minutes of the game but with 14:28 left in the first half Presentation made it a three-point game at 13-10 on a jumper by Greg Garrett. A minute and a half later Spencer found Richter open on the wing and he drilled his first 3-pointer of the game that sparked a 10-0 run that gave Augustana a 23-10 lead at the midway point of the half.
 
The Vikings extended the run to 25-9 over the final 12:38 of the first half to build a 19-point lead at 38-19 before Presentation's Devin Crear hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the half to make the score 38-22 at halftime.
 
The Vikings shot 41 percent from the field in the first half on 12 of 29 shooting, including 36 percent (4 of 11) from 3-point range. Augustana hit 10 of 12 free throws in the half, led by Schilling who was 4 of 4 from the line. Schilling finished the half with 11 points to go along with five rebounds. Richter and Jansen each added nine first-half points for the Vikings.
 
Presentation shot 33 percent (10 of 30) from the field in the first half and was just 1 of 13 from 3-point range.
 
Augustana opened the second half on a 12-4 run to build a 24-point lead at 50-26. Richter sparked the Vikings fast start in the second half scoring seven of the 12 points during the run.
 
Presentation would not go away quietly as Louis Cox hit a 3-pointer to make it a 21-point game helping the Saints score 17 of the game's next 25 points to make it a 15-point game at 58-43 with 10:29 to play forcing the Vikings to call a timeout.
 
The two teams traded points over the next five minutes of the game as the Saints continued to hit from 3-point range and eventually cut Augustana's lead to 13 at 73-60 on a 3-pointer by Cameron Isreal with 4:54 remaining in the game.
 
The Saints chipped away at Augustana's lead even more cutting the lead to eight at 77-69 on a basket by Nick Gillett with 1:48 to play but that would be as close as they would get as the Vikings did not allow PC a shot attempt in the final minute and a half in the game to hold on for their fifth straight win.
 
Augustana will now turn its attention to Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play as the Vikings will host Wayne State on Monday, Nov. 24. Tip-off from Sioux Falls Arena is set for 8 p.m.