BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Augustana men's basketball team fell for the first time in NSIC action Saturday evening, 75-73, at Bemidji State. The loss drops the No. 21 Vikings to 9-2 overall and 4-1 in conference play. Bemidji State improves to 6-3, 3-2.
 
Augustana jumped out to an 11-0 lead but saw the Beavers methodically work their way back into the game and tie it at 26-all with 4:33 remaining in the first half. From there, neither team would be able to seize any momentum to build a lead and take control of the game.
 
The Vikings entered halftime leading 36-32. The lead would briefly jump to six points but Bemidji State would answer back yet again and not allow the Vikings to pull away.
 
With the score tied at 69 and 2:14 remaining in the game, sophomore Matt Todd hit a jumper which was followed by a layup by sophomore Michael Schaefer to give the Vikings a four-point advantage. With 61 seconds remaining, Zach Baumgartner made an and-one to pull the Beavers within a single digit at 73-72.
 
Augustana had several opportunities to answer back with a pair of offensive rebounds but could not get the basket to fall. After the Vikings' third shot attempt, Baumgartner pulled down the rebound which allowed Nick Wagner to hit the game-winning basket for BSU with 1.9 seconds remaining.
 
Todd had a last-chance desperation heave that narrowly missed giving the Beavers the victory.
 
Todd poured in a game-high 22 points while sophomore Dylan LeBrun tallied a season-high 17 points. Schaefer also reached double digits with 13 points. Juniors Tyler Riemersma and Jameson Bryan each grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
 
Augustana only committed three turnovers on the night, a season-low, and forced nine from BSU. The Vikings shot 43.5 percent from the field while the Beavers were 50.9 percent.
 
The Vikings return to the Sanford Pentagon on Saturday hosting Wayne State at 5:30 p.m.