SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The 2017-18 season started in grand fashion for the Augustana men's basketball team, as the Vikings notched a pair of wins at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Evansville, Indiana. Those two victories in tow, and after more than a week off, the Vikings now open the home portion of their schedule when they return to action with a pair of games on the slate this week; starting with Peru State on Tuesday at 7 p.m., followed by Graceland on Thursday at 8 p.m. in the back end of a doubleheader, both in the Elmen Center.
 
The young Vikings squad leaned on its veterans in first two games of the season, and they answered the call. In the first game, a 77-73 win over Southern Indiana, senior Marcus Asmus posted his second-career double-double, scoring 23 and grabbing 11 rebounds, while senior Jordan Spencer and junior John Warren both scored 17.
 
In the second game, an 88-69 win over Montevallo, Warren poured in 21 points on a perfect 8 for 8 night from the floor, including a 5 for 5 night from 3-point range. Senior Steven Schaefer tied a career-high with 17 points, while Spencer tallied his sixth-career double-double with 14 points and 15 assists.
 
Five players made their Augustana debut at the SCB Hall of Fame Classic; junior transfer Nolen Gerald, sophomore transfer Adam Dykman, freshmen Matt Cartwright and Jameson Bryan and redshirt freshman Bodey Behrends, all logged meaningful minutes off the bench, with the exception of Dykman, who started both games, and averaged 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds, including 10 points and 7 rebounds in the win over Montevallo.
 
Vikings Quick Hits
• This week's games mark the 2,144th and 2,145th games in program history
• Augustana enters the week 17 wins shy of a .500 all-time record as a program
• The Vikings opened a season on the road for the fifth consecutive season
• Augie's win over Southern Indiana snapped the Screaming Eagles streak of 32 straight season-opening wins
• Augustana last opened a season at home in 2012-13, when the Vikings played their first seven games at home, all wins
• The Vikings own a perfect 14-0 record in home-opening games under head coach Tom Billeter
• The Vikings won each of their last 19 home openers, with the last loss coming on Nov. 18, 1997; a 64-49 setback to Mount Marty
• Augustana's 16 3-pointers vs. Montevallo marked the most since they tallied 16 at SMSU on Feb. 11, 2017
• Augie recorded 21 assists vs. Montevallo, the most since dishing out 21 at Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 27, 2017
• The Vikings posted a double-double in both games this season (M. Asmus vs. USI, J. Spencer vs. Montevallo)
• Five players made their Augustana debut last week (A. Dykman, M. Cartwright, B. Behrends, J. Bryan, N. Gerald)
• Former Peru State Bobcat Danny Schouse (1977-79) won two Icelandic basketball championships
• Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce Jenner) graduated from Graceland University in 1973, and won Olympic Gold in 1976
 
Noteworthy
CLIMBING THE LADDER: Senior Jordan Spencer entered the season ranked 20th in all-time scoring at Augustana with 1,221 career points. After adding 31 points in the first weekend of the season, his total climbed to 1,252, which ranks 18th all-time, 24 points shy of passing Nick Olson, (1,275 points from 2003-07) for 17th all-time.
 
DISH IT OUT: Along with being a prolific scorer for the Vikings, Jordan Spencer entered his senior season with a school-record 688 assists, and a 6.8 assists per game average. A solid opening weekend pushed that total past 700, and he enters the week with 719.
 
STOP, THEIF!: He scores, he assists and he steals. Jordan Spencer came into the season tied for 17th all-time at Augustana with 122 steals, two shy of moving up to 15th all-time, but no needs just one to move up the charts.
 
3-POINTER STREAK: Augustana made at least one 3-point field goal in each of the last 398 games. The last time the Vikings did not make a 3-pointer came on Jan. 24, 2004, a 79-69 loss against North Dakota in the Elmen Center.
 
FINISH WHAT YOU START: Already a starter in 100 games in his career coming into the season, Spencer needs to start 30 games this season to set the school-record for career starts, a record held by Daniel Jansen (129 starts from 2012-16). He enters the week with two starts this season, for a total of 102 in his career.
 
VIKINGS IN DOUBLE FIGURES: At least one Viking score in double figures in each of the last 224 games. The last time an Augie player did not score at least 10 points in a game came on March 3, 2010, in a 75-52 loss to Wayne State at the Elmen Center in the NSIC Quarterfinals, when Lee Stephens led the Vikings with 8 points.
 
WHERE DID THE POINTS GO?: Over the last two seasons, Augustana graduated a total of 9,150 career points from a total of eight student-athletes, which includes five 1,000-point scorers, two of which scored at least 2,000 career points.
 
This Week's Opponents
Peru State Bobcats (3-1, 2-1 Away): Peru State entered the week with a 3-1 record after splitting a pair of contests over the weekend at the Northwestern Classic in Orange City, Iowa. The Bobcats opened the event with a tough 102-97 win over Dordt on Friday, before falling 100-87 to the host Red Raiders on Saturday.
 
The Bobcats, who play their first nine games of the season away from home, play at Nebraska Wesleyan on Monday before taking on the Vikings on Tuesday.
 
Series Notes: Third meeting, Augustana leads 3-0, with all three meetings taking place in the Elmen Center.
Dec. 9, 2004 – W, 102-50
Dec. 5, 2006 – W, 108-67
Nov. 25, 2016 – W, 89-66
 
Graceland Yellowjackets (5-4, 0-1 Away): Fresh off a seven game homestand, Graceland comes to Sioux Falls riding a two game winning streak, which includes a 2-0 forfeit win over Grace University on Tuesday. The Yellowjackets split a pair of games last weekend, dropping a 74-66 game to Hope International, before bouncing back with a 101-65 win over Barclay.
 
Series Notes: First Meeting
 
Next Up
Following this week's action, the Vikings make a quick stop into Northern Sun play with a game at Wayne State on Monday, Nov. 20, and then return home to host Doane on Wednesday, Nov. 22, before traveling to Chadron State on Saturday, Nov. 25.
 
NSIC play begins in earnest on Dec. 1-2, when the Vikings travel to Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State.