ST. PAUL, Minn. – An off-balance heave as the buzzer sounded downed the Augustana men's basketball team Saturday at Concordia-St. Paul. Antwan Kimmons hit the game-winner for the home team in the 63-61 score.
 
Augustana falls to 6-5 on the season and 2-3 in the NSIC while the Golden Bears improve to 3-7, 1-4.
 
It was a back-and-forth first half with five lead changes and three ties while Augustana forced 10 turnovers and recorded seven offensive rebounds. Conversely, Concordia-St. Paul kept the score close by shooting 61.1 percent from the field, essentially making the shots they did get off against Augustana's stifling defense.
 
The Vikings opened an 11-2 lead with three points from Ryan Miller and eight-straight points from Jadan Graves. The Golden Bears fought back and tied the contest at 17-all which set the tone for the lead changes throughout.
 
A Bennett Otto jumper with 22 seconds remaining in the first half knotted the game at 31-31, the score in which the teams would enter the intermission.
 
The second half was much of the same until Augustana went on an 8-1 run concluding with an Otto 3-point basket with 6:03 remaining in the game to give AU a 58-50 advantage.
 
However, Concordia-St. Paul went on an 8-0 run of its own to tie the game again. The two squads then matched shot-for-shot for the remainder of the contest concluding with CSP's game-winning shot.
 
Graves scored a game-high 16 points while Otto matched a career-high with 15 points. Miller joined the duo in double-figure scoring with 10 points. Akoi Akoi recorded a career-high nine rebounds while dishing four assists.
 
For the second-straight game, the Augustana defense kept a leading scorer well under his points per game average as Kimmons entered the weekend leading the NSIC with 22.4 points per outing. He scored just 12 points against Augustana's defense.
 
Augustana returns home to the Sanford Pentagon for a rare Saturday and Sunday set of NSIC contests. On Saturday, the Vikings host Upper Iowa in a rematch of the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 from last season. On Sunday, the Vikings host Winona State. Saturday's game is slated for a 5:30 p.m. start while Sunday has a 3:30 p.m. tipoff.