SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 3 seed Augustana University men's basketball got a career-high 19 points and eight rebounds from senior Zach Huisken in a 74-63 win in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament on Wednesday night at the Sanford Pentagon.
 
The Vikings improve to 22-7 on the season while Bemidji State ends its season at 10-18. Augustana is now 11-6 all-time in the NSIC Tournament.
 
Augustana finished the game shooting 35.3 percent (24 of 68), including 30 percent from 3-point range. The Vikings were 2 of 11 from behind the arc in the first half before going 4 of 9 in the second.
 
The Vikings had a great night at the free throw line finishing 20 of 24 (83.3 percent). Huisken was 9 of 11 from the stripe and 5 of 14 from the field. Mike Busack added 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
 
Jordan Spencer picked up his 14th career game with 10-plus assists. Adam Beyer finished with 11 points, five rebounds and three assists.
 
Bemidji State was led by Ben Best who scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds. BSU shot 46.6 percent (27 of 58) from the field and hit 7 of 23 from 3-point range.
 
Augustana and Bemidji State combined to shoot 4 of 16 from the field in the first five minutes of the contest but the Vikings grabbed an early 6-2 lead. The Vikings extended their lead to 17-9 nearing the midway point of the half when Busack hit Augustana's first 3-pointer of the night with 10:43 left in the first.
 
BSU got within three at 12-9, but with Spencer on the bench with two early fouls, Austin Saugstad ran the point and got the Vikings five straight points after hitting a jumper on the left wing and finding Busack for the three that put Augustana up eight.
 
Steven Schaefer scored five straight points for the Vikings and Marcus Asmus put Augustana up by 10 at 26-16 with 7:27 remaining in the half. The two teams played well over five minutes without a stoppage in play with the under-10 minute media timeout occurring with 6:19 left in the half.
 
The Beavers went on a 10-2 run during a nearly four-minute stretch towards the end of the half to cut Augustana's lead to one at 30-29. BSU got back-to-back 3-pointers from Jacob McNallan at the start of the run. The Vikings attacked the rim late in the half but were unable to get the shots to fall but Augustana hit 6 of 7 free throws in the final 5:36 to go into the locker room at halftime with a 34-29 lead.
 
Augustana finished the half shooting 30.6 percent (11 of 36) from the field, including 2 of 11 from 3-point range. The Vikings were led by Huisken's 11 first-half points. Huisken was 3 of 8 from the field but hit 5 of 6 from the free throw line to help the team finish 10 of 12 from the stripe.
 
Bemidji State shot 43 percent (12 of 28) from the field, including 3 of 13 from 3-point range. McNallan led BSU with eight points in the first frame.
 
Augustana opened the second half on a 6-2 run to build to push its lead up to nine after Huisken converted a 3-point-play putting the Vikings in front 40-31. Jai'Vionne Green started to heat up for the Beavers as he scored five straight to start a 9-2 run for BSU to make the score 42-40 with 13:41 to play.
 
The Vikings pushed their lead back up to six three times over the next three minutes but Bemidji State kept on answering back getting back within two at 52-50 just past the midway point of the half. Augustana answered by hitting five of its next eight shots to build a 10-point lead of 65-55 with just over five minutes to play.
 
Augustana extended its run to 13-2 gaining a 17-point lead of 74-57 with 49 seconds remaining in the game after a 3-pointer by Beyer.
 
The Vikings were ranked No. 6 in the latest NCAA Central Region rankings. Augustana advances to the quarterfinals of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament and will pay North Division No. 2 seed Northern State at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26 at the Sanford Pentagon.