SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The final weekend didn't exactly go as planned for the Augustana men, but a win on Friday at Winona State gave the Vikings just enough to secure a home game in the first round of the Northern Sun Tournament, which begins on Wednesday against Bemidji State at 8 p.m., following the Augustana women's game, also against the Beavers, which starts at 6 p.m.
 
The Vikings earned the No. 5 seed on the NSIC South with a 10-12 record, but get to host Bemidji State in the first round for a second straight year because of a better conference record than the Beavers, who finished with a 9-13 mark in the conference.
 
This marks the second meeting of the season between the two teams, which met on Feb. 3, in Bemidji, where the Vikings came away with a comfortable 92-66 win behind a career night from John Warren, who set career-highs with 32 points, eight 3-pointers and with 14 rebounds. The Vikings also got a double-double from Adam Dykman, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Should the Vikings prevail again on Wednesday, they would advance to play the winner of the U-Mary at Southwest Minnesota State game on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the NSIC Quarterfinals at the Sanford Pentagon. Augustana cruised to a 114-81 win over U-Mary in the lone meeting of the season at the Sioux Falls Arena on Dec. 9, and split with the Mustangs; winning 89-78 on Dec. 30, in Marshall, Minnesota, before falling, 81-77 on Feb. 10, at the Arena.
 
Vikings Quick Hits
• Wednesday's game marks the 2,198th game in program history
• Augustana finished the season with a 151-65 all-time record in NSIC play
• The Vikings won their only other game this season played on a Wednesday (Nov. 22, vs. Doane – 111-72)
• Augustana beat Bemidji State twice in NSIC Tournament, both times in the first round (2015, 2017)
• The Vikings used the same five starters in all 28 games this season, and all five average at least 10 points per game
• Augustana led at some point in 27 of the 28 games this season, and led in the second half or overtime of 23 of the 28
• The Vikings advanced to at least the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament in each of the last five seasons
• The win at Winona State on Friday marked the second win for the Vikings when trailing at the half
• Four Vikings combined for 17 double-doubles this season; Asmus (7), Spencer (4), Dykman and Warren (3)
• Jordan Spencer leads the nation with 213 assists this season
• A start on Wednesday would give Spencer 129 in his career, tied with Daniel Jansen for the most in school history
• Marcus Asmus ranks second in the NSIC with 238 rebounds, and an 8.5 rebounds per game average
• Bodey Behrends scored a career-high 12 points in the first meeting of the season with Bemidji State