SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana men got a quick taste of Northern Sun play on Monday, but return to non-conference play for the final time this week, with a home game against Doane on Wednesday, followed by the final non-conference game of the season at Chadron State on Saturday. Both the Tigers and Eagles play on Tuesday before playing the Vikings this week.
 
The Vikings and Tigers tip from the Elmen Center on Wednesday at 4 p.m., while the Saturday game against the Eagles tip at 2 p.m. CT.
 
The conference season got off to a bit of a rough start on Monday at Wayne State, as the Wildcats took an early lead that they would never relinquish, despite several strong pushes by the Vikings throughout the game.
 
Down 10-3 early, the Vikings closed the gap to as few as 10-8, but would not get any closer before the Wildcats took a 36-29 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
The Wildcats held a 70-58 lead with under three minutes to play when the Vikings made one final run, and cut it to 78-75 with 44 seconds left, but the Wildcats made just enough foul shots down the stretch to secure the 80-75 win, which snaps an eight game Vikings winning streak against Wayne State.
 
Following this week's action, the Vikings return to NSIC play, starting with a road trip to Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State. The Vikings and Golden Bears play on Dec. 1, followed by a Dec. 2 contest against the Mavericks.
 
Vikings Quick Hits
• This week's games mark the 2,147th and 2,148th games in program history
• The Vikings own an all-time record of 566-655 in conference play
• Augustana plays each its first six games of the season on different days of the week
• The Vikings last lost three straight games on Feb. 1-8, 2014 (2/1 at SCSU, 2/7 vs. Winona St., 2/8 vs. Upper Iowa)
• At least one Vikings player recorded a double-double in three of the four games this season
• Monday's game at Wayne State marked the Vikings first true road game of the season
• The Vikings grabbed fewer rebounds than their opponents in all four games this season
• The same five Vikings started all five games this season
• All five Augie starters average at least nine points per game, with four of them averaging at least 11 points
• The Vikings made at least 10 3-pointers in all four games this season
• At least three Vikings scored in double figures in every game this season, with at least one of them reaching 20 points
• The Vikings won all three games this season when they led at the half
• Augustana plays its final two non-conference games of the season next week
• Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman was born in Crete, Nebraska, the home of Doane University
• Chadron State graduates Don Beebe (5) and Danny Woodhead (1) both played in at least one Super Bowl
 
Noteworthy
CLIMBING THE LADDER: Senior Jordan Spencer entered the season ranked 20th in all-time scoring at Augustana with 1,221 career points. His 108 points this season boost his total to 1,329, which ranks 15th all-time, 53 points shy of passing Rich Chapman (1,381 points from 1973-77) for 14th 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. The dynamic distributor added 43 assists through five games, pushing his record total to 731.
 
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, but his five steals this season give him 127, good for 15th all-time, and four shy of moving up past Brett Szabo (1987-91) and Damien Fair (1994-98) for 13th all-time
 
3-POINTER STREAK: Augustana made at least one 3-point field goal in each of the last 401 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 five starts this season, for a total of 105 in his career.
 
VIKINGS IN DOUBLE FIGURES: At least one Viking score in double figures in each of the last 227 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.