SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - With the remnants of last year's one-point loss to Northwest Missouri State (1-2) in the NCAA Tournament fresh in their mind, the No. 1 Augustana men's basketball team (1-1) came out and established a paint presence while locking down on defense, but it was late game heroics that stole show Thursday night.

After leading for the vast majority of the game, the Bearcats came storming back behind the play of sophomore guard Justin Pitts, who had 22 of his 24 points in the second half. But senior Daniel Jansen was not going to allow his team to fall to Northwest for the second straight year.

Coming out of a timeout, just 13 seconds left, Jansen came off a screen about five feet from the behind the arc and drilled an NBA range three-pointer. The score gave Augustana the lead with .5 seconds remaining on the clock. A full court heave later and the Vikings came out victorious 79-77 in front of a crowd of 2,819 in the Sioux Falls Arena.

The Vikings got the ball into the post early and often against the 14th-ranked Bearcats, scoring 20 points in the paint in the first half and 32 for the game. Al Richter got the paint scoring started early on a putback off an offensive rebound.

Following the Richter putback, Augustana would use a 9-3 run to jump out to an early lead that they would hold onto for most of the night. The Vikings largest lead was 16 early in the first half until the Bearcats tied the game at 71 with 2:57 left to play.

Leading the charge offensively for Augustana were seniors Jansen and Casey Schilling who each had 13 points in the first half. Jansen ended the night with a team high 23 points, going a perfect 4-4 from behind the arc. Schilling added another 16 to the Vikings total after 6-12 from the field and 2-2 from behind the arc.

Augustana had four players score in double-digits Friday. Joining Jansen and Schilling were Adam Beyer and Richter. Richter had a key, old fashioned 3-point play with just 2:30 left in the game to give the Vikings a three-point lead.

Casey Schilling earned his first double-double of the season, the 22nd of his career, against the Bearcats after grabbing 13 boards to go along with his 16 points.

Augustana will be on the road this coming Monday as they travel to Wayne, Neb. to take on the Wildcats of Wayne State in their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener. The women's game will start at 6 p.m. with the men to follow.