SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Looking to stop a slide, the Augustana men's basketball team made a statement on Saturday night in front of more than 2,000 fans at the Sioux Falls Arena. Led by career-best performances from a pair of freshman, the Vikings picked up a 92-91 win over St. Cloud State. The Vikings improve to 14-10 (10-8), and the Huskies drop to 17-7 (12-6).

The story of Saturday's game was Vikings second-half comeback in the games last five minutes. Trailing 82-73 with 5:15 to go, Trevor Hanson sparked a 9-0 run over two minutes to tie the game at 82-82. The Vikings capped off the comeback at the 2:10 mark as Matt Cartwright drained a left-wing three for an 85-82 lead. In the final minutes, the Vikings never trailed.

Augustana was led by a career-high 29 points and 7 rebounds from Michael Schaefer. A native of St. Cloud, Minn., the freshman was an efficient 11-of-16 and also added a career-high 5 assists. Matt Cartwright knocked down shots all night for 19 points, and Hanson poured in 17. A.J. Plitzuweit finished with 17, all in the second half, and also dished out helpers all evening for a career-best 8 assists. 

One of the biggest keys for the Vikings was their ability to get teammates involved, finishing with 22 assists on 31 field goals. The Vikings shot 52 percent (31-of-60) overall, and were also helped out by 20 second-chance points. 

Augustana head coach Tom Billeter was proud of his programs bounce-back win on Saturday. "That was a fun game tonight," Billeter said. "I thought our timeout and breaks were effective, and our guys came out in the second half and did a good job of expressing themselves."

In the games opening minutes, Michael Schaefer dropped a dime to Matt Cartwright to start the scoring with a hook shot inside. Plitzuweit returned the favor to Schaefer for a layup, and following back-to-back triples from Cartwright, the Vikings took their first lead at 10-9. 

Gage Davis gave the Huskies the lead, but coming out of the games first media timeout (14:15),. Schaefer got the Vikings back on the board with a pair of buckets The Viking freshman then hit two-straight threes and had 14 points in the first 11 minutes. 

Augustana also got five straight points from Jameson Bryan, and at the 5:30 mark of the 1st, took their first lead at 32-31. 

The story of the first half was Schaefer, who finished the first 20 minutes 8-of-10 from the field with 19 points. Sean Smith answered with a jumper for the visitors, but Dylan LeBrun got in a scoring column with a triple to tie the game at 38 all. 

St. Cloud State took a 42-40 lead, but with seconds ticking down in the first half, Cartwright buried a 30-foot jumper for buzzer-beating three. At the half, Augustana led 43-42. 

Schaefer led the team with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the first half. Matt Cartwright registered 14 points, including 3-of-4 from downtown. Although he didn't score, Plitzuweit contributed in a big way with six first-half assists. Augustana shot 17-of-34 (50 percent) in the first half, compared to 15-of-27 (55 percent) for SCSU. David led the Huskies with 14 in the first half.

Both sides came out strong to start the second, including four quick points from Trevor Hanson. Davis also added four more to his total, but Augustana maintained a 51-50 lead at the 17:07 mark. 

Brindley Theisen moved into double-digits for St. Cloud State, but the Vikings had a response anytime the Huskies tried to make a run. Schaefer stood up and scored four straight points and midway through the second, he had tied his career high with 27 points. 

Now tied at 57, a steal and fast-break layup from Plitzuweit gave the Vikings a 59-57 lead. The Huskies made three of their next four attempts to go up 65-61. 

With just over seven minutes to go, Plitzuweit pushed the Vikings ahead with two straight threes. However, the combo of Davis and Theisen put the visitors on a 10-2 run and an 82-73 lead with 5:35 to play. 

From there, the Vikings went on 12-0 run to take control for good. The Vikings dropped 49 points in the second while shooting nearly 54 percent.

Davis finished with 31 points to led SCSU. 

Augustana now prepares for their final road trip of the regular season, heading to Mankato, Minnesota for a 7:30 start with Minnesota State on Friday. Augustana ends the weekend with a 5:30 start vs. Concordia St. Paul on Saturday.