SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Hitting the hardwood for their final non-conference game of the season, the Augustana men's basketball team recorded a trio of career games from Michael Schaefer, Dylan LeBrun and Jameson Bryan en route to a 93-86 win over Hastings (Neb.). With their fifth straight win, the Vikings move to 8-3 (4-1 NSIC). Hastings falls to 11-5 overall. 

Augustana head coach Tom Billeter was proud of his program's performance and all-around effort. "Our guys took it upon themselves to step up tonight," Billeter said, "With a few guys missing, I knew they would need to play well and I thought both our freshman and sophomore class were solid tonight." 

The story of Wednesday is the career-best games from three Viking underclassmen, including a pair of double-doubles. Michael Schaefer led all players with a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds, and fellow freshman Dylan LeBrun dropped a career-best 22 points and 12 boards. Jameson Bryan did a little bit of everything on Wednesday, scoring a career-high 18 points, collecting 7 board and dishing out 6 assists. Matt Cartwright marked the fourth Viking to hit double figures with 15 points and 3 assists.  

The Vikings, who scored a season-high 93 points on Wednesday, are now averaging more than 87 points per game over their five-game win streak. 

One of the games biggest differences was Augustana's ability to crash the glass and rebound. The Vikings, who are one of the best rebounding teams in the conference, finished the game with a 48-33 (+15) advantage in rebounds. Even more important, Augustana collected 17 offensive boards and outscored Hastings 23-4 in second-chance points.  

From the opening jump, Schaefer started strong by crashing the glass and scoring on multiple second-chance points. Minutes later, Cartwright started to find his footing as the sophomore knocked down three straight jumpers for eight early points. The Sophomore capped off a 10-3 run and gave the Vikings a 14-10 lead at the games first media timeout. 

The Vikings have seen a significant contribution from four freshmen this season, and tonight, a fifth got involved. Eric Tiedman knocked a pair of jumpers inside to push the lead to 18-13 lead at the 10:55 mark. The freshman from Jordan, Minnesota finished the night with a career-high 4 points and 4 rebounds in 11 minutes of action. 

Hastings was able to keep the game close early. Bart Hiscock scored inside to cut into the deficit, but the Vikings continued to have the answer. Jameson Bryan buried a straightaway triple to push it back to an 8-point game. Bryan continued to take advantage of extended minutes by scoring four straight points for a 28-20 Augustana lead. 

Late in the half, the crowd came alive as Trevor Hanson threw down his second dunk of the season. Hanson finished with 6 points and 7 boards. Hastings closed the first half with an 11-4 run, but the Vikings still led 41-38 at the break. 

LeBrun stayed hot in the second half, knocking down a straightaway three and then getting fouled on a triple. He made all three free throws and had scored 8 of the Vikings first 10 points of the half. LeBrun and the Vikings continued to attack the basketball in the paint and finished with 30 points in the paint for the sixth time this season.

With the Vikings leading 58-54, Bryan continued his strong sophomore season with a layup inside. Early in the second half, he had matched his career-high with 16 points. 

Although Hastings Kevin Miller kept the game close with a long three, LeBrun and Schaefer wouldn't let the Vikings be denied. A freshman from Flandreau, LeBrun continued to shoot and find nothing but net. He scored inside, and then came around a screen to knock down a long three. He racked up 20 second-half points as Augustana pushed their lead to 78-67 with 4:36 left. 

Both Cartwright and Schaefer also showed up in the second half. They traded buckets on back-to-back possessions to push the Viking lead to 12 points late in the 4th.

Moments later, LeBrun put an exclamation point on the win. Off a steal, Matt Cartwright lobbed it up to Lebrun and he threw down a big-time alley-oop. The dunk made every fan jump out of their seat as Augustana outlasted Hastings for the seven-point win.

The Vikings will now take 10 days off before restarting conference play on Sunday, Dec. 30. Augustana visits Wayne State for a 3:30 tip-off in Wayne, Neb.