MANKATO, Minn. – Jordan Spencer scored 17 points led a group of five Vikings in double-figures to lead Augustana University to an 85-70 win over Minnesota State University, Mankato (9-5, 4-4 NSIC) on Friday night. Mike Busack added 16 points, nine rebounds and three steals and the Vikings improved to 11-4 overall, including 6-3 in NSIC play.
 
Augustana used a 15-0 run over the final minute of the first half and the first three minutes of the second half to build a 17-point lead. The Vikings led by just four with 1:52 left in the first half before a 7-0 run gave Augustana an 11-point lead at the half. Augustana then opened the second half on an 8-0 run to build its largest lead of the night at 19.
 
Steven Schaefer and Austin Saugstad had big nights off the bench for the Vikings. Schaefer hit 5 of 7 from the field, including 3 of 4 from behind the arc, to finish with 13 points to go along with four rebounds. Saugstad added a career-high 10 points on 3 of 3 shooting (1 of 1 from 3-point range) while also going 3 of 4 from the free throw line.
 
John Warren finished the night with 11 points on 5 of 12 shooting. Spencer added seven assists and three steals with his team-high 17 points.
 
Adam Beyer flirted with a double-double finishing with seven points and eight rebounds and Marcus Asmus added six points and five rebounds for the Vikings.
 
Augustana finished the night shooting 48.5 percent from the field hitting 32 of 66 shots, including 10 of 22 from 3-point range. After shooting just two free throws in the first half, the Vikings finished the game 11 of 16 from the line.
 
Minnesota State was led by Jon Fuqua's 14 points and seven rebounds. Joey Witthus pitched in with 10 points and five rebounds for the Mavericks. MSU shot 44.4 percent (24 of 54) from the field and hit 9 of 25 3-pointers.
 
Augustana stood tough on the defensive end early in the contest and was able to jump out to a 9-2 lead just over four minutes into the game. The Vikings held MSU to 1 for 5 to start out the game while Spencer scored seven of the Vikings' first nine points and forced the Mavericks to take an early timeout knocking down a three giving Augustana a seven-point lead with 15:57 to play in the half.
 
The Mavericks were able to get things going on the offensive end over the next three minutes hitting four of their next five from the field, including going 2 of 2 from 3-point range to get within one at 14-13 with 12:04 to go in the half.
 
Busack had a strong first half for the Vikings grabbing seven boards but it was his back-to-back 3-pointers that quickly pushed Augustana's lead back up to seven at 22-15 nearing the midway point of the half. Busack started a 12-0 run that allowed Augustana to extend its lead to 13 at 28-15 after Steven Schaefer hit his first 3-pointer of the half.
 
Minnesota State made another run out-scoring the Vikings 8-2 over the next four minutes to get within four but Schaefer knocked down his second 3-pointer of the half and the Vikings would score seven straight to close-out the half and take an 11-point lead of 39-28 into the break.
 
After starting out hot from the field, the Vikings finished the half shooting 41 percent (16 of 39) from the field. Augustana was 6 of 14 from 3-point range and knocked down 1 of 2 free throws. The Vikings had a strong half on the glass out-rebounding the Mavericks 26-17 in the first frame.
 
Spencer led the Vikings with 11 points in the first have to go along with three assists. Warren added nine points on 4 of 7 shooting and Busack pitched in with six points and seven boards.
 
Minnesota State was led by Jay Knuth's nine first-half points. The Mavericks finished the half shooting 35.7 percent from the field, including 3 of 14 from 3-point range.
 
Augustana started out the second half strong going on an 8-0 run over the first three minutes to build a 19-point lead at 47-28. The Vikings forced three turnovers during the run and got points from four different players.
 
Minnesota State wouldn't go away quietly going on a 12-3 run over the next 4:46 to cut Augustana's lead to 10 at 50-40. The Vikings turned the ball over five times during the run and the Mavericks went 4 of 5 from the field, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range during the run.
 
The Mavericks got within eight after Fuqua converted a 3-point-play but Austin Saugstad knocked down a huge 3-pointer off a dish from Busack giving Augustana an 11-point advantage of 57-46 with 10:10 remaining. Augustana pushed the pace on the offensive end and built its lead back up to 17. The Vikings moved the ball around the perimeter finding Schaefer for a three and Zach Huisken came up with a steal on MSU's next possession and Schaefer went on the fastbreak finishing with the right hand to put Augustana in front 69-52 with 5:49 to play forcing MSU to call a timeout.
 
Augustana led by as much as 21 in the final five minutes to pick up its fifth straight win over Minnesota State after earning the hard-fought 85-70 road win over the Mavericks.
 
The Vikings will close-out the two-game road trip tomorrow night taking on Concordia-St. Paul at 6 p.m. at the Ganglehoff Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.