SIOUX FALLS – Winter arrived in a big way this week with extreme cold and some snow, but the Augustana men's basketball team looks to remain hot, and build on two straight wins before the holiday break with two more in the final games in 2017, when the Vikings take on Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls.
 
The Vikings and Mustangs tip on Saturday at 6 p.m., in Marshall, Minnesota, while Sunday's game against the host Cougars starts at 4 p.m. from the Stewart Center.
 
Augustana entered the holiday break with a well-balanced 80-70 win over Wayne State at the Sioux Falls Arena on Dec. 19. Steven Schaefer set the pace with 21 points in the win, with Matt Cartwright adding 15 off the bench and Marcus Asmus 11 points.
 
The teams played close throughout the first half, which saw five ties and 17 lead changes before a Cartwright 3-pointer with 2 minutes, 3 seconds left in the first half put the Vikings up for good.
 
Up 38-32 at halftime, the Vikings built the lead to as many as 20 points in the second half, and led 69-49 with just over six minutes to play when the Wildcats tried to mount a comeback, but they would get no closer than the final 10-point margin, which they hit on a 3-pointer with just 28 seconds left in the game.
 
Vikings Quick Hits
• This week's games mark the 2,177th and 2,178th in program history
• Augustana and Wayne State split the season series for the first time since 2012-13. Augie swept the years in between
• The 44 rebounds against Wayne State tied a season-high, as the Vikings also grabbed 44 vs. Doane on Nov. 22
• The Vikings scored a season-high 19 second chance points with a season-high 15 offensive rebounds vs. Wayne State
• Despite a season-high 17 lead changes vs. Wayne State, Augie led for 29:03, compared to 5:43 for the Wildcats
• On Dec. 19, vs. Wayne State, Augie won for the first time this season when making fewer 3-pointers than its opponent
• The Vikings committed a season-low 11 personal fouls vs. Wayne State, four fewer than at Concordia-St. Paul on Dec. 1
• Six of the Vikings eight wins came by at least 10 points
• The Vikings eight wins came by an average of 18.4 points, while their four losses came by an average of 7.8 points
• Six Vikings scored at least 20 points in a game this season (Asmus, Cartwright, Dykman, Schaefer, Spencer, Warren)
• The Vikings used the same five starters in all 12 games this season, and all average at least 9.9 points per game
• Steve Zahn, film and stage comedian and actor, was born in Marshall, Minnesota in 1967
 
Noteworthy
ARENA SWEET ARENA: The Vikings returned to the Sioux Falls Arena for the 2014-15 season, and rattled off 29 straight wins on the new/old home floor. The Vikings now own a 36-4 record in the Arena since returning in 2014.
 
CLIMBING THE LADDER: Senior Jordan Spencer entered the season ranked 20th in all-time scoring at Augustana with 1,221 career points. His 196 points this season boost his total to 1,417, which ranks 14th all-time, 49 points shy of passing former teammate Alex Richter (1,465 points from 2011-16) for 13th 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 88 assists so far this season, pushing his record total to 776.
 
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 14 steals this season give him 126, moving him to 15th all-time, six shy of passing both 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 408 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 12 starts this season, for a total of 112 in his career.
 
VIKINGS IN DOUBLE FIGURES: At least one Viking score in double figures in each of the last 234 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.
 
Next Up
Following this week's action, the Vikings return home to host the rematches with Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul at the Arena.