SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – In post-Thanksgiving action, the Augustana men's basketball team welcomes Valley City State and Hastings to the Elmen Center for a pair of nonconference games Friday and Saturday, respectively. Contests on both days are scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
Complete action can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app. The app can be downloaded in the app store or Google Play.
 
About the (Valley City State) Vikings
Valley City State is 4-5 on the season and is coming off a 155-54 win over Oak Hills Christian College this past Wednesday. Prior to that 61-point win, the Vikings had lost four-straight games including a loss to the No. 9 ranked team in NAIA, Jamestown.
 
Joseph Owens is the only Viking to average double-figure points as he is at 11.1 points per game while shooting 46.8 percent from the field. The 6-6 forward does not appear to be a 3-point threat as he is 0-for-4 from deep this year. Will Tinjim is VCSU's leading rebounder with 6.0 rebounds per game.
 
Augustana and Valley City State last met on Nov. 14, 2016, in a contest in which AU won 80-64. The first contest between the two schools was a 50-49 Augustana victory on Dec. 27, 1939.
 
About the Broncos
Hastings college enters with an unblemished record in 2022-23 having started 8-0. That includes a 74-64 win over Dakota State this past Monday. Even with the 8-0 record, Hastings was not receiving votes in the last NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Poll.
 
The Broncos' offense comes at you fast from three individuals led by Reggie Thomas and his 21.9 points per game. Karson Gansebom is second on the team with 17.5 points per outing. The third Bronco in double-figure scoring is Tyrique McMurrin and his 13.3 points per outing. Thomas and Gansebom have combined to go 31-of-73 from 3-point land.
 
Augustana and Hastings last met on Dec. 19, 2018, which was a 93-86 Viking victory. Current Viking Eric Tiedman saw 11 minutes of action in that game scoring four points and securing four rebounds.
 
About the (home team) Vikings
Augustana is 2-3 in 2022-23 after having Wayne State slip past it on Tuesday night in a 69-61 setback in the NSIC opener. Sophomore Akoi Akoi had his second-straight game where he tallied a career-high in points as he went 8-for-11 from the field for 19 points. Ryan Miller scored in double figures for his fourth-straight game with 14 points.
 
For the season, it's Miller who leads AU in scoring with 13.2 points per game over five games played. Akoi, having played three of the five games, averages 13.0 points per outing including the back-to-back career-bests. In his first year with the Vikings, Jadan Graves has put up solid numbers across the big three stat lines with 9.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.75 assists per game.
 
One Last Thing
Augustana owns a 12-game winning streak in games played inside the Elmen Center on the Augustana campus. The margin of victory has averaged 16.8 points per game over those 12 contests.