SIOUX FALLS – The Augustana men scored the final six points of regulation to force overtime on Sunday at Sioux Falls, but the Cougars scored the first four and the final seven points of the extra frame to secure a 70-61 win over the Vikings.
 
The loss drops the Vikings to 9-5 on the season overall and evens their Northern Sun record at 4-4, while the hosts improve to 9-4 overall and to 5-3 in conference play.
 
Augustana held Sioux Falls without a field goal for 9 minutes, 37 seconds in the first half, but the Vikings could only manage nine points during that span, which started with the Cougars up 11-10 six minutes into the contest, and ended with Augie leading 19-16 with 4:23 on the first half clock.
 
The scoring slump continued for the remainder of the half, before a Steven Schaefer jumper beat the first half buzzer to send the Vikings into the locker room with a 24-18 lead.
 
Both teams struggled in the first 20 minutes, with the Vikings shooting 35.7 percent, 10 of 28, and the Cougars shooting 22.6 percent, 7 of 31.
 
The cold shooting continued as the second half started, and while the Vikings did manage to extend their lead to 36-29 with 11:33 remaining, the Cougars answered with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 36-all, the first of three ties over the next five minutes before USF used a 6-0 run to take a 51-46 lead with 4:35 left, drawing a timeout from the Augustana bench.
 
The Vikings clawed their way back into the game after the timeout to force overtime, but couldn't quite close it out.
 
Matt Cartwright led the Vikings with 14 points off the bench, with John Warren adding 13 and Schaefer 11 points in the loss.
 
Four Cougars scored in double figures, led by Drew Guebert and his 18 points, but both teams struggled all night from the floor, as USF finished the game shooting 38.1 percent, 24 of 63, while the Vikings shot 30.4 percent on the night, 21 of 69.

The Vikings look to start a new winning streak when in the new year, when they return home for games against Minnesota State on Friday at 8 p.m., and Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday at 6 p.m.
 
NOTES: Tonight's game marked the 2,178th game in program history … Augustana leads the all-time series with Sioux Falls, which dates back to Jan. 23, 1922, 36-33 … the Vikings scored a season-low 24 first half points, one fewer than the 25 scored in the first frame Concordia-St. Paul on Dec. 1 … the Vikings fall to 8-2 this season when leading at the half and to an even 1-1 in overtime