ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Behind five players in double-figure scoring, the Augustana men's basketball team propelled past St. Cloud State, 90-66, Friday evening in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Three of the five players in double-figures were true freshmen for AU while the other two are newcomers to the 2022-23 team led by
Jadan Graves' 18 points.
Ryan Miller totaled 13 while
Sam Rensch and
Brady Helgren each tallied a season-best 12 points while
Jackson Loge totaled a season-best 11 points.
Outside of an early deficit that never stretched beyond four points, the Vikings never trailed. With 16:27 to go in the first half, Graves sank a 3-point basket to give Augustana its first lead at 7-6, then it was off to the races.
A layup by Helgren with 13:54 on the clock gave AU a 16-8 lead. Despite the Huskies moving within four points at 19-15, a 3-point basket from Rensch and a dunk from
Caden Hinker pushed that lead back to nine points at 24-15.
Augustana, who moved to 10-11 on the season and 6-9 in the NSIC, then ended the opening half on a 23-7 run, leading 42-22. The loss drops St. Cloud State to 7-13 overall and 4-11 in league action.
The Vikings' lead never dipped below 14 points in the second half and stretched as large as 29 points with 2:06 left in the contest. That came on a Rensch trey when
Alex Distras found him open for the assist.
The final score settled at 90-66 as Augustana won on a Friday night for the seventh time this season.
Isaac Fink concluded the night with an eight-point, eight-rebound effort with his rebounds being a game high. HInker nearly reached double-digit points as he tallied nine on 50 percent shooting.
Augustana continues action in Minnesota Saturday with a 3:30 contest at Minnesota Duluth.
--GoAugie.com--
