DULUTH, Minn. - The Augustana men's basketball team closed the week on Sunday afternoon, falling to the No. 13-ranked Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs 92-65 inside Romano Gymnasium. 

With the loss, the Vikings move to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in NSIC play, while the Bulldogs move to 7-1, 2-0.

The Vikings had three in double figures offensively, with Brady Helgren's 11 points leading the way. Akoi Akoi and Caden Kirkman each scored 10 points on 5 of 9 shooting. Jadan Graves had six rebounds, and Isaac Fink had five assists. 

In the early going, the Vikings held their own. Brayson Laube and Fink combined to give AU a 3-2 lead in the first 2+ minutes before the Bulldogs inched ahead 11-7 at the 14:22 mark of the first half. Laube, Kirkman, Caden Hinker, and Arhman Lewis each scored a bucket to ease the Vikings within two at 17-15 with 11:08 to play in the half. 

The Bulldogs scored seven straight from there, but Fink put a halt to the run with a three pointer, and Helgren made a jumper to make the score 24-20 in favor of UMD. After a 5-0 Bulldog run, Fink and Helgren each made jumpers, sandwiching a UMD three, and Hinker knocked down a three from the top of the key to trail 32-27 with 5:56 to play in the half.

Each team went to knock down a layup before another 7-0 Bulldog run put them ahead 41-29. After a Hinker layup, UMD raced to a 12-4 run, capped by a three pointer at the buzzer to take a 53-35 lead into the locker room. 

The Bulldog lead dipped as low as 17 points in the second half after Graves and Helgren each knocked down a pair of free throws to trail 70-53 with 8:10 to play, but a 12-4 UMD run pushed UMD ahead 82-57. The Vikings were outscored 10-8 in the final 4:28 to bring the game to its final score. 

The Vikings host Minnesota State on Friday in their 2023-24 debut at the Sanford Pentagon. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.