SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana men's basketball team is on the road for a pair of contests to take place Saturday and Sunday this week. The games were backed up in an effort to help Concordia-St. Paul host the NCAA Division II Volleyball Regional.
 
The Vikings will take on the Golden Bears on Saturday at Noon and Bulldogs on Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
Complete action can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app, presented by The Original Pancake House. The app can be downloaded in the App Store or Google Play. 
 
About the Games
Augustana is on the road in NSIC contests for the first time in 2023-24 while CSP holds a 3-0 record on its home floor. In contrast, UMD has not played a game on its home floor in 2023-24 but will face Wayne State on Saturday prior to the Vikings.
 
About the Golden Bears
Concordia-St. Paul is off to its best start in years with its 5-2 record. The Golden Bears are coming off back-to-back wins after dropping its NSIC opener to Winona State, 75-69. The wins were over Truman State, 96-54, and former NSIC foe Upper Iowa, 103-92.
 
Having been tabbed 12^th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, Jordan Horn leads CSP with 24.9 points per game while securing 5.4 rebounds. He is joined in double-figure scoring by Antwan Kimmons and his 17.8 points, although he has not seen action since Nov. 18. The leading rebounder is Marcus Skeete and 6.7 rebounds per outing while chipping in 16 points per game.
 
About the Bulldogs
Ranked No. 13 in the latest NABC Coaches Poll, Minnesota Duluth is 5-1 on the year with the lone blemish coming in a neutral-site contest against East Central, 62-58. Since that loss on Nov. 11, the Bulldogs have reeled off four straight NCAA Division II wins including a 15-point victory over Michigan Tech and a two-point win at Northern Michigan last weekend.
 
Returning its entire starting five from a team that advanced to the Elite 8 last season, UMD was picked as the preseason favorite in the NSIC while Drew Blair paces the offense at 21.8 points per game. Joshua Brown and Charlie Katona join him in double-figures at 10.7 points per game each. Brown leads the team in rebounds and assists with 6.2 and 3.0 per game, respectively.
 
About the Vikings
Augustana is 4-2 on the season after walloping Grand View in a post-Thanksgiving tune-up on Saturday. The Vikings won 96-58 while true freshman Brayson Laube made his starting lineup debut. Laube responded with a season-best 15 points while Isaac Fink paced the game with 21 points. Jadan Graves added 17 points and seven assists with Dallas Bear putting up a season-best 12 points.
 
On the season, it's been no secret the offense runs through Fink and Graves as the duo averages 18.8 and 18.7 points per outing, respectively. Graves dishes 3.8 assists per game while Fink, who led AU in both scoring and rebounds last year, secures 6.8 rebounds per game. Fink has been getting help on the boards in 2023-24 from sophomore Brady Helgren as he secures 6.7 rebounds per game to go with his 6.2 points and 72.7 field-goal percentage.
 
One Last Thing
Laube's inclusion into the starting lineup came after he was averaging 10.4 minutes per game. He had a strong outing against Sioux Falls where he played 17 minutes and went 4-of-8 from the field for 10 points. Against Grand View, he played 22 minutes while making five field goals for his 15 points including four from 3-point range.