SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana men's basketball team has officially avenged both losses on its season after topping No. 19 Upper Iowa, 92-83, Saturday evening inside the Elmen Center. The No. 11 ranked Vikings improve to 19-2 on the season and remain in first place of the NSIC South Division at 13-2. Upper Iowa is now 20-4, 14-4.
 
Augustana led for all but 18 seconds of the game. Those 18 seconds came with 3:45 remaining in the contest as Connor Duax scored a layup to give UIU a brief 76-75 advantage.
 
That re-lit a fire under Augustana as the Vikings embarked on a 13-2 run to take an 88-78 lead with 42 seconds on the clock.
 
Isaac Fink scored two of his 18 points on a layup to have AU retake the lead at 77-76. After a Bennett Otto steal on the ensuing Peacock possession led to a Fink jumper from just beyond the free-throw line.
 
After a strong defensive possession for Augustana, Adam Dykman broke loose under the basket and got the Elmen Center crowd on its feet with a thundering dunk, pushing Augustana's lead to six points at 82-76.
 
Upper Iowa then got its only two points during the run on a pair of free throws before Augustana rattled off six more points. The moment Upper Iowa realized the game was over was a Dykman 3-point basket from the top of the key giving the Vikings an 87-78 lead and all the momentum to close the game.
 
The Vikings made their free throws down the stretch to capture the 92-83 win.
 
Dylan LeBrun tallied 23 points while Tyler Riemersma recorded 20 points. In all, five Vikings scored in double figures with Fink's 18, 12 from Dykman and 10 from Otto. Riemersma continued his trend of averaging a double-double as he secured 11 rebounds for the 32^nd double-double of his career.
 
Riemersma also surpassed 800 rebounds in his Augustana career, now totaling 810, ranking him eighth all-time.
 
Upper Iowa was led by Jake Hilmer with 30 points on 10-of-23 shooting as the Peacocks shot 50 percent from the field for the game. The Vikings forced them into 11 turnovers, scoring 16 points off those turnovers. In Contrast, Augustana committed just nine turnovers with UIU mustering just 10 points.
 
Augustana plays its final doubleheader road weekend by traveling to Concordia-St. Paul on Friday and Minnesota State on Saturday. Friday's game in St. Paul, Minnesota, is slated for 7:30 p.m. On Saturday in Mankato, tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
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