SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Adam Beyer scored a career-high 24 points on 9 of 12 shooting, hitting 3 of 4 3-pointers, to lead No. 2 Augustana University men's basketball (10-1, 7-0 NSIC) to an 88-61 win over the University of Sioux Falls in front of 3,426 fans at the Sioux Falls Arena on Saturday. Augustana has now won five straight games over USF (8-5, 3-4 NSIC).  
 
Beyer added four rebounds, four assists and two steals on the night registering his second career 20-plus point performance.
 
Alex Richter pitched in with 20 points hitting 7 of 9 shots from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Daniel Jansen just missed his third double-double of the season finishing with 18 points and nine rebounds.
 
Casey Schilling added 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals while Jordan Spencer registered seven assists and six rebounds to go along with two points. Spencer has dished out five or more assists in all 11 games this season and 26 straight games dating back to Jan. 24 of last season.


 
The Vikings finished the game shooting 47 percent from the field marking the first time since Nov. 27 being held under 50 percent from the field. Augustana finished 31 of 66 and knocked down 10 of 23 3-point attempts marking the ninth game this season with 10-plus 3-pointers.
 
USF shot 45 percent (23 of 51) from the field, including 6 of 22 from 3-point range and were led in scoring by Mack Johnson's 14 points. Augustana dominated the glass out-rebounding the Cougars 42-30 while putting in 15 second-chance points and 42 points in the paint.
 
Augustana opened up a 6-0 lead just over two minutes into the game but the Cougars answered with an 11-0 run over the next two-plus minutes to take a five-point lead at 11-6. USF was able to hold on to its lead through the midway point of the first half until the Vikings went on a 9-0 run to take a 24-21 lead.
 
USF's Drew Guebert gave his team a 21-15 lead with a 3-pointer at the 8:51 mark of the half but the Vikings answered with nine straight tying the game on a transition basket by Alex Richter before taking the lead at 22-21 when Schilling hit one of two free throws.
 
Jansen made it 24-21 with a pair of free throws but the Cougars answered with a triple from Cutler Finneman on the other end to tie things up again, this time at 24-24. The two teams would play to two more tie scores in the first half before the Vikings went up three at 33-30 on a 3-pointer by Jansen. USF got to the free throw line twice with under 30 seconds to play in the half and was able to make it a one point game at the break.
 
The Vikings took a 35-34 lead into the break after shooting 46.2 percent (12 of 26) from the field. The Vikings were just 2 of 8 from 3-point range in the half but hit 9 of 13 from the stripe. Beyer led all players with 12 first-half points on 4 of 5 shooting, including 1 of 1 from 3-point range. He also hit all three of his free throw attempts.
 
USF finished the half shooting 50 percent (13 of 26) from the field, connecting on 4 of 12 (33 percent) 3-pointers. Augustana held a 19-13 edge on the glass in the first half and out-scored the Cougars 20-13 in the paint.
 
The Vikings opened the second half attacking the rim scoring 8 of 11 points in the paint in the first four minutes of the half to build a 46-40 lead.
 
The Vikings continued to pour it on early in the second half out-scoring the Cougars 29-14 at the midway point of the period to build a 16-point lead at 64-48.
 
USF cut the lead back down to 12 after a 3-pointer by Johnson with 7:55 remaining in the game to make the score 67-55 but the Vikings quickly pushed the lead up to 20 with a 10-2 run over the next 1:20 to put the game away.
 
Augustana out-scored the Cougars 11-4 over the final 4:13 of the game to collect its 10th straight win in an 88-61 victory.
 
With the win, Augustana earned a half a point in the First Dakota National Bank Mayor's Cup Challenge. The Vikings own an 5.5-0.5 lead over the Cougars in the head-to-head competition. For more information on the First Dakota National Bank Mayor's Cup Challenge, visit SFMayorscup.com.
 
Augustana returns to action Sunday evening hosting Southwest Minnesota State at 5 p.m. at the Sioux Falls Arena.