SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Following a decade of success - including 12 straight winning seasons and a DII National Championship - the Augustana men's basketball team will officially start a new era of Viking basketball when they tip-off Friday evening at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Great American Conference crossover challenge. The two-day event will take place at Cedar Valley College in Lancaster, Texas, and will square up Augustana with Southern Arkansas on Friday at 3 p.m., and Henderson State (Ark.) on Saturday at 12 p.m. Fans not in attendance can follow the games at GoAugie.com/Live and stay up to date with Augustana basketball all season on twitter at @AugieMenBball.

Augustana head coach Tom Billeter knows his team is young this year, but still expects his roster to produce on the court. "Without a senior on the team and just three juniors, we're pretty new," Billeter said. "But I'm confident in the skill level of this group and we're ready to win games right now."



To give an idea just how young the Vikings are, of last season's 14-man roster only four student-athletes remain. This season, the Vikings will have 16 players in uniform, and 13 are underclassman. However, all three of the freshmen from South Dakota on the roster - Dylan LeBrun, A.J. Plitzuweit and Trevor Hanson - were members of the 2017 class 'A' All-State first team.

Of the returning players that will hit the court this season, two to watch are 6'4 sophomore guard Matt Cartwright and 6'7 junior forward Adam Dykman. The duo has the most experience on the team and are looking to be leaders on the court. Cartwright came off the bench as the sixth man in all thirty games and averaged 7.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. Dykman started in all thirty games and averaged 11 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

After finishing last year 16-14 (10-12 NSIC), the Vikings received 127 points and were picked to finished seventh overall in the NSIC preseason poll. The Vikings were picked to finish fourth in the NSIC South Division.

Following this weekend's matchup, fans can catch the Vikings in action as they open the home portion of their season on Tuesday, Nov. 9th at 7 p.m. in the Elmen Center. Augustana will welcome Chadron State (Neb.) for a non-conference tip-off.

Scouting Southern Arkansas:
Picked to finish fifth in the Great American Conference preseason coaches' poll, the SAU Men's basketball team returns nine players from a team that finished 15-14 (11-11 GAC) last season.

The Muleriders will likely be led by their top returning scorer and top assist leader, redshirt senior CJ Elkins (14.0 ppg and 3.2 apg), as well as top rebounder and top shot-blocker, sophomore forward DeVante Brooks (4.3 rpg and 0.9 bpg).

The Muleriders also return top-five scorers from last season, senior point guard Draylan Perkin (10.3 ppg) and senior forward Wesley Nosakhare (6.8 ppg). Last year, SAU's season finished in the GAC quarterfinals with a 76-71 loss to Northwestern Oklahoma.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Scouting Henderson State (Ark.)
After losing three starters from their 2017-18 team, the Reddies were picked to finish 10th in the Great American Conference preseason coaches' poll. A season ago, the Reddies finished the year 14-14 and did not qualify for the postseason tournament.

Henderson State brings back senior guard Joshua Jones, who started all 28 games last season and averaged 13.9 points per game, as well as sophomore point guard Chris Parker who averaged 14.5 points and 3.7 assists per game as a true freshman.

Other key returners include sophomore forward Raekwon Rogers, who played in 24 games and shot 56.6 percent from the field as a true freshman, junior stretch forward Tanner Hamilton, who shot 40 percent from the 3-point line last season, as well as senior guard Eric Dailey, who has started 30 games in his career at Henderson.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

The Fastbreak:

• The Vikings open their season on the road for the sixth consecutive season.
• The Vikings have won three of their last four season openers. The last loss came in the opening game of the 2015-2016 season when the Vikings went on to finish 34-2 and win the DII National Championship.
• Augustana men's basketball has played 2,171 games in school history, and the program all-time record is 1,077-1,094 (.496).
• Over the last four years, Augustana men's basketball has won nearly 80% of their games, going 105-28.
• The Vikings finished 16-14 last year, locking in their 12th straight winning season.
• In the 2018-2019 NSIC preseason poll, the Vikings received 127 points and were picked to finished seventh overall.
• The Vikings were picked to finish fourth in the NSIC South Division.
• With a record of 287-166 in 15 seasons at Augustana, Tom Billeter is Augustana's all-time winningest men's basketball coach
• Billeter led Augustana to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including five trips in the last seven seasons.
• On this year's roster, the Vikings have five true freshmen, two transfers, and 10 of 16 student-athletes have never played together.
• All three of the freshmen from South Dakota on the roster - Dylan LeBrun, A.J. Plitzuweit and Trevor Hanson - were members of the 2017 class 'A' All-State first team.
• Augustana's top returning scorer is Adam Dykman. The junior started in all thirty games and averaged 11 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
• Both Matt Cartwright (7.2 points) and Jameson Bryan (3.7 points) came off the bench in all 30 games for the Vikings last season.
• Augustana made at least one 3-point field goal in each of the last 426 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.
• For the first time in program history, Augustana will compete in the East-West Challenge on Nov. 16-17th at the Sanford Pentagon, squaring up with South Dakota School of Mines (Fri.) and Black Hills State (Sat.).