KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Behind a double-double from Tyler Riemersma and a near double-double from Isaac Fink, the Augustana men's basketball team opened 2021-22 with a 74-66 win over Southern Arkansas. The contest is part of the Central Region Challenge taking place in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.
 
Riemersma picked up right where he left off last season with a double-double of 24 points and 14 rebounds, his third-straight contest with double digits in two categories. Fink ended the night with 18 points and nine rebounds while also recording five assists against zero turnovers.
 
Augustana trailed just three times in the contest, with the last being an 18-17 score in favor of the Muleriders with just under five minutes on the clock in the first half. Augustana then flipped the score and entered halftime with a 29-23 score.
 
Coming out of the break, the Vikings utilized an 8-2 run to push their lead to 37-25 to begin to take control of the game. The first points of the half were a dunk from the hands of Dylan LeBrun, two of his 16 points. LeBrun then tallied an old-fashioned 3-point play with a layup and foul while sinking the free throw. The run ended on a Jameson Bryan 3-point basket with 17:40 showing on the clock.
 
A Bennett Otto trey with 12:32 on the clock lifted AU's lead to 14 points, then a game-high, at 47-33 which forced an SAU timeout.
 
The timeout offered a brief reprieve as Augustana watched its lead balloon to 21 points with 5:11 on the clock. The 21-point advantage came thanks to a 10-1 run with a 3-point basket from Fink, a pair of free throws from Riemersma, a long-range shot from Otto and ended on a tip-in from Riemersma to make the score 65-44.
 
Over the final five minutes, Southern Arkansas, a team fresh off an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021, began to whittle away at the Vikings' advantage. The Muleriders eventually cut the lead to six points with just 37 seconds remaining, but over the final 53 seconds, Augustana went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to seal the win at 74-66.
 
The win marks the fifth-straight season that Augustana opened with a victory.
 
Augustana ended with the three players in double-figure scoring with Riemersma's 24, Fink's 18 and LeBrun's 16 as Augustana shot 46.7 percent in the second half to conclude the game at 38.6 percent from the field. Riemersma also tallied a game-high with his 14 rebounds.
 
Southern Arkansas was led by Aaron Lucas with 18 points as the Muleriders shot an identical 38.6 percent from the field.
 
Augustana remains in Kansas City for day two of the Central Region Challenge facing No. 11 Washburn at 6 p.m. The Ichabods won their game on Friday, 86-65, over Northern State.