ST. PAUL, Minn. – Augustana University men's basketball completed its road swing with an 84-76 win over Concordia-St. Paul to pick up a pair of wins on the weekend. Augustana (12-4, 7-3 NSIC) had four players in double-figures against the Golden Bears (4-12, 1-8 NSIC) led by Mike Busack who finished with 19 points and seven rebounds.
 
Steven Schaefer matched his career-high with 17 points against the Golden Bears. Schaefer finished the night 6 of 8 from the field, including hitting 4 of 5 from behind the arc. Schaefer has put up 17 points in both games against Concordia-St. Paul this season.  
 
John Warren hit four 3-pointers and finished the night with 16 points, five assists and three rebounds while Jordan Spencer finished with 13 points, six assists and five rebounds.
 
The Vikings shot 46.8 percent from the field hitting 29 of 62 shots. Augustana shot a season-high 33 3-pointers and knocked down 13 on the night.
 
Concordia-St. Paul had three players in double-figures, led by Bryndan Matthews, who finished with 17 points to go along with six rebounds. The Golden Bears shot 43.9 percent (25 of 57) from the field and hit 9 of 24 from behind the arc.  
 
Augustana started out the game going 1 for its first 5 from the field allowing Concordia-St. Paul to take a 7-2 lead early in the contest. The Vikings got the offense going after a 3-pointer by John Warren with 16:40 to play in the first half. Warren's three sparked a 19-7 run over the next 4:31 allowing Augustana to take a 21-14 lead nearing the midway point of the half.
 
Schaefer came off the bench and helped the Vikings overcome an early deficit. Schaefer gave Augustana its first lead of the game with a  3-pointer and later scored six straight after hitting another three before converting a 3-point-play after taking the ball to the rim and getting the foul and the freebie.
 
Concordia-St. Paul cut Augustana's lead down to four but Schaefer kept knocking down shots in the first half as his third triple of the half pushed the Vikings' lead back up to 10 at 33-23 with 5:36 left in the first frame.
 
Busack began to heat up in the final five minutes of the half scoring 11 of his 13 first-half points in the final six minutes of the first helping the Vikings build a 13-point lead. Busack scored eight straight points for the Vikings helping Augustana take a 41-28 lead.
 
The Golden Bears closed-out the half on an 8-2 run to make it a seven-point game at 43-36 getting a late 3-pointer from Sam Siganos with four seconds to play in the first.
 
After getting out to a slow start shooting from the field, Augustana rebounded to shoot 51.6 percent (16 of 31) from the field. The Vikings knocked down 6 of 14 3-pointers in the half, led by Schaefer who was 3 for 3 from behind the arc.
 
Augustana got into a little foul trouble in the first half with Beyer playing just seven minutes after picking up two early fouls and Spencer playing just nine minutes with two fouls. Austin Saugstad ran the point for 11 minutes in the half and dished out four assists. Warren ended the half with six points and five assists.
 
Schaefer led the Vikings with 14 first-half points on 5 of 6 shooting (3 of 3 from 3-point range) while Busack added 13 points and three rebounds.
 
CSP finished the half shooting 42.9 percent (12 of 28) from the field, including 5 of 13 from behind the arc. Eight different players scored for the Golden Bears in the half, led by Matt Ambriz's seven points.
 
CSP hit a 3-pointer right out of the gate in the second half to make it a four-point game but the Vikings pushed the pace in the first four minutes of the half to extend their lead back up to double-digits at 54-44 after a block by Huisken that sent Warren in all alone on the fastbreak.
 
Augustana held on to its lead nearing the midway point of the second half but the Golden Bears kept chipping away. After leading by just five, the Vikings pushed it back up to eight at 64-56, after eight straight points from Spencer. CSP answered with an 8-2 run over the next 1:30 cutting Augustana's lead to just two at 66-64 with 9:49 remaining in the game.
 
The Vikings did not surrender the lead and put the hammer down over the next five minutes going on a 12-2 run to push their lead back up to double-digits at 78-66 with 3:12 to go. CSP got to within six with 1:01 to play but the Vikings closed-out the game at the free throw line taking the eight-point road victory over the Golden Bears to earn a sweep on the road after Friday night's win over Minnesota State.
 
Augustana returns to action next Friday and Saturday returning to the Sioux Falls Arena for a pair of match-ups against NSIC North Division opponents. The Vikings will host MSU Moorhead on Friday, Jan 13 at 8 p.m. before taking Northern State at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the NCAA Division II Game of the Week on ESPN3.