SIOUX FALLS – After playing their first three conference games on the road, the Augustana men's basketball team plays their first NSIC home games this weekend, when they host Minot State on Friday and U-Mary on Saturday. The Vikings and Beavers tip from the Sioux Falls Arena on Friday at 8 p.m., while the Vikings and Marauders start on Saturday at 6 p.m.
 
The Vikings return to the Arena with a 6-3 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Northern Sun play after splitting their first full weekend of NSIC play; winning 75-56 last Friday at Concordia-St. Paul, before falling the next night 90-79 at Minnesota State.
 
Down by 14 points 14 with 12:22 left on Friday at Concordia-St. Paul, the Vikings used a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 49-44 exactly four minutes later, and then erupted for an 18-0 run to take a 65-53 lead with 2:43 left, as the Vikings outscored the Golden Bears 28-4 over the last 6:14 and 50-25 in the second half to secure the win.
 
Jordan Spencer scored 29 points on Saturday night, and the Vikings went into the locker room tied with the Mavericks at 43-all, but the hosts pulled away down the stretch to secure a 90-79 decision. Steven Schaefer added 12 points and Adam Dykman 10, but the Mavs shot 54.7 percent from the field to ice the victory.
 
Augustana gets a break before they return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 19, when it hosts Wayne State in the final game before the holiday break. The Vikings and Wildcats tip at 8 p.m.
 
Vikings Quick Hits
• This week's games mark the 2,151st and 2,152nd games in program history
• The Vikings own an all-time record of 567-657 in conference play
• Augustana's win at Concordia-St. Paul last Friday marked their first win this season after trailing at halftime
• The Vikings scored a season-low 25 first half points at Concordia-St. Paul
• Augie gave up fewer than 60 points on Friday at Concordia-St. Paul for the second time this season (53 at Chadron St.)
• Augustana scored at least 50 points in a half for the second time this season at CSP (62 in the second half vs. Doane)
• 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 nine games this season, and all average at least 10.8 points per game
• After being outrebounded in the first four games, Augie outrebounded or tied its opponent in rebounds the last five games
• The Vikings won both of their games this season played on a Friday night, and own a 2-1 mark on Saturdays
• Friday's game marks Minot State's first true road game of the season
• Augustana won its first five meetings with the Beavers before dropping last year's meeting, 88-84 on Dec. 9, 2016
• Emmy Award-winning actor Josh Duhamel completed his BA from Minot State University in 2005
• U-Mary's last win over Augustana came on Feb.12, 2011, a 90-81 triumph in Bismarck, N.D.
• Nebraska head men's basketball coach Tim Miles graduated from the University of Mary in 1989
 
 
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 34-3 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 158 points this season boost his total to 1,379, which ranks 15th all-time, three 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 69 assists so far this season, pushing his record total to 757.
 
STOP, THIEF!: 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 10 steals this season give him 132, moving him to 15th all-time, just two steal shy of passing Mark Smed (133 steals from 1979-83) for 12th all-time
 
3-POINTER STREAK: Augustana made at least one 3-point field goal in each of the last 405 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 nine starts this season, for a total of 109 in his career.
 
VIKINGS IN DOUBLE FIGURES: At least one Viking score in double figures in each of the last 231 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.