ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Fresh off a double overtime victory on Friday, the Augustana men's basketball team carried the momentum into St. Paul on Saturday with an 83-78 win over Concordia-St. Paul. Augustana, who matches their win total from last year, moves to 16-10 (12-8 NSIC South), and the Golden Bears drop to 8-18 (3-17 NSIC South). 

The victory also marks the 400th in a 21-year career for Tom Billeter. Starting his career at North Dakota State, Coach Billeter picked up his first win as a head coach on Nov. 20, 1992, over Augsburg College. Billeter now stands 400-226 (.639) overall. 

"I'm thankful to everyone who has been a part of the success of the programs - I'm very blessed," Billeter said. "Tonight, we really had to gut it out and figure out a way to win it, which we did." 

Augustana's motto this season is 'ALL IN,' and tonight the Vikings showed what exactly that means. All 10 players registered points for the Vikings, including 28 from the Viking bench alone. 

Other key stats from Saturday include a season-high 10 steals for the Vikings, which led to 18 points off turnovers. Augustana also excelled in 2nd chance and fast break points, outscoring CSP, 21-2. 

The Vikings were led tonight by a stout offensive performance from Matt Cartwright. The sophomore cooked up 20 first-half points and finished the game with five triples, 28 points, and 5 rebounds. A.J. Plitzuweit dropped 14 points and team-high 4 assists, and Tyler Riemersma came back on the court with 13 points, 3 rebound performance. Overall, Augustana shot 26-of-57 (45.6 percent). 

Both sides traded empty possession in the opening minutes, but Hanson started the scoring for the Vikings with his first free throw of the night. Trailing 7-1, Augustana pushed the pace and found Eric Tiedman for the Vikings first field go of the evening. 

The Viking started to get going thanks in part to an effort from their bench, but also getting to the free throw line. Tyler Riemersma knocked down four straight attempts and cut the deficit to single digits. 

The game's turning point came at the 11:04 mark of the first half. Trailing 19-7, Augustana made 9-of-12 shots over the next eight minutes and took control with a 30-8 run. 

Nearly every Viking on the court got involved in the run, including five quick points from Dylan LeBrun. Plitzuweit also pitched in with a pair of free throws, but the key was the start from Sophomore Matt Cartwright. The Sioux Falls native knocked down 4-of-6 triples and racked up 20 points in the first half. 

Now leading 37-27, the Vikings closed the half strong on both ends of the court. Beau Keeve came in to knock down a triple, and although CSP answered, Augustana still went into the locker room with a 42-31 lead. 

In the first half, Augustana shot 13-of-29 (44 percent) and was led by Cartwright with 20 points. Trevor Hanson chipped in six, but the biggest key was the seven turnovers and four steals the Vikings picked up. 

The final frame started with a 10-0 run from CSP, cutting the Viking lead to 42-41. Cartwright came alive with a right-wing three, giving him 23 on the night. 

Bryndan Matthews kept the home team in the game racking up 14 quick points, but thanks to a deep bench the visitors had the answer. Jameson Bryan entered the game and chipped in six quick points, Bodey Behrends knocked down a pair of shots, and the Vikings maintained a six-point lead. 

With a 70-62 advantage with a 5:04 to play, Cartwright knocked down a pair of free throws and worked his way up to 27 points on the evening. Isaiah McKay responded with a three and cut the deficit to 72-67 with 3:38 to go. 

With three minutes to go, Plitzuweit pulled up and knocked down a big-time jumper. He came back with a pair of free throws and pushed the lead to 75-69 with 3:01 to go. 

The final minutes featured more from Plitzuweit who scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half. The freshman also finished 7-of-8 from the free throw line. 

Riemersma also stepped up late, scoring five quick points inside. Augustana had built an 82-78 lead with 31.2 seconds left and used clutch free throw shooting to hold off the Golden Bears. 

Concordia was led by 21 points from McKay and Matthews. The Golden Bears shot 27-of-48 (57 percent) in the loss. 

The Vikings now return home for their final home series of the regular season, taking on Sioux Falls at 7:30 p.m. and Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Both games will be played at the Elmen Center.