SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 5 Augustana University men's basketball clinched at least a share of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season championship with a 79-71 win over the University of Sioux Falls (16-10, 11-9 NSIC) on Saturday night.
 
Augustana is 22-2 on the season, including 19-1 in NSIC play. With two games remaining in conference play, the Vikings hold a two-game lead over MSU Moorhead for the overall title.  
 
Casey Schilling led the Vikings with his ninth double-double of the season (31st career) finishing with a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds. Schilling moved into fifth all-time in scoring at Augustana on the night. He has scored 1,818 career points and finds himself just 12 points shy of fourth all-time.
 
Daniel Jansen went over 2,000 career points in tonight's win finishing with 17 on 4 of 10 shooting, including 2 of 4 from 3-point range. Jansen has now scored 2,015 career points and is the first player in Augustana men's basketball history to score over 2,000 points.
 
Alex Richter added 16 points for the Vikings shooting 6 of 9 from the field, including 1 of 2 from behind the arc. Richter was also 3 of 4 from the free throw line. Augustana finished the game 15 of 19 (79 percent) from the free throw line as a team.
 
Adam Beyer and Zach Huisken each pitched in with seven points for the Vikings.
 
The Vikings shot 51.8 percent (29 of 56) from the field, hitting 6 of 19 3-point field goal attempts.
 
USF was 29 of 61 (47.5 percent) from the field and hit 8 of 27 3-pointers. Mack Johnson led the Cougars with 21 points.
 
With USF holding a 7-6 lead early in the first half, Jansen tied the game and gave the Vikings a lead hitting two of his seven first-half free throws to spark a 17-7 run that allowed Augustana to build a nine point lead.
 
Huisken sparked the run for the Vikings coming off the bench to score seven quick points during the stretch helping his team build a nine point lead.
 
The nine point lead was Augustana's largest of the first half as the Cougars went on to out-score the Vikings 17-8 over the next five minutes to tie the game at 31 with 3:36 remaining in the half.
 
Augustana never relinquished the lead in the first half and carried a 37-33 lead into the locker room.
 
The Vikings shot 44.8 percent (13 of 29) from the field, including 2 of 9 from behind the arc. Augustana was able to maintain the lead by hitting 9 of 11 free throws in the half.
 
Augustana and USF continued to battle back-and-forth in the second half. The game saw five tie scores and 10 lead changes.
 
The Vikings were able to build their lead back up to nine early in the second half going on an 11-6 run to start the second. The nine point lead matched Augustana's largest of the game and that would be as high as it would get until the final minute of play.
 
Richter scored seven straight points, including a 3-pointer and a putback dunk, to Augustana in front by nine at 48-39 with 16:18 remaining in the game. The Cougars fought all the way back to tie the game over the next five minutes, eventually taking a 55-53 lead, their first since the four-minute mark of the first half.
 
Schilling stopped a 16-5 USF run with a basket to tie the game at 55-55. USF was able to regain the lead twice over the next minute and a half before Jansen knocked down his second 3-pointer of the night that put the Vikings up 65-64 with 6:33 to play.
 
Jansen's three was at the front end of a 19-8 Augustana run over the final six-plus minutes of the game to allow the Vikings to get out of the Stewart Center with a victory.
 
Augustana has now won 24 of the last 26 meetings against USF, including six straight games. The Vikings swept the regular season series over the Cougars to earn a point in the First Dakota National Bank Mayor's Cup Challenge.
 
Augustana leads USF 6.5-0.5 in the 2015-16 First Dakota National Bank Mayor's Cup Challenge. For more information on the Mayor's Cup Challenge, visit SFMayorscup.com.
 
Augustana will close-out the regular season next weekend hosting Upper Iowa at Winona State at the Sioux Falls Arena. The Vikings will take on Upper Iowa at 8 p.m. on Friday before closing-out the regular season against Winona State at 6 p.m. on Saturday.