SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Jadan Graves scored a season-high 27 points and Caden Hinker added 12 points in the second half to power the Augustana Viking men's basketball team past Briar Cliff, 77-68, on Saturday afternoon inside the Elmen Center. 

The victory moves the Vikings to 7-6 overall, while the game will be chalked up as an exhibition affair for the Chargers. 

Graves shot 7 of 11 from the field and 11 of 11 from the free throw line to lead the Vikings. He also contributed four rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals. Hinker tallied five rebounds and two assists to go along with his second half surge. The pair combined for 31 of the 49 second half points for the Vikings. Isaac Fink scored 12 points and grabbed a team-high nine boards, and Brady Helgren added 10 points and five rebounds. 

The Chargers opened the game with a 6-0 run before trading the next points and taking an 11-5 lead through 4+ minutes. The Vikings scored the next eight points, as a Helgren layup was followed by three pointers from Graves and Brayson Laube to take a 13-11 lead with 13:31 left in the first half. 

The next four scoring possessions involved lead changes, with the Graves layup at 10:07 left in the half giving the Vikings a lead at 17-16. After nearly three minutes of scoreless action, Helgren cleaned up the offensive glass and finished a layup to grow the lead to 19-16 at 7:19 left. 

After BCU tied the score at 19-19 with a three, AU went on a 9-4 run, capped by an and-one from Fink, to lead 28-23 with 2:23 remaining. A BCU jumper brought them back within three at 28-25 with 1:57 to play, a score that would hold until the second half. 

To open the second half, BCU scored nine of 13 points to take a 34-32 lead with 16:45 to play in the game. Hinker jumpstarted the Vikings from there, scoring six points in an 8-0 Viking run to put AU ahead 40-34 with 13:22 remaining. 

After a BCU layup, the Vikings tacked onto their lead with another 8-0 run for their first double digit lead of the game at 48-36 with 10:25 remaining. The lead lingered at double digits until the 6:40 mark, when the Chargers began a 5-0 run. After the Vikings grew the lead back to 12 with 4:06 to play, BCU opened a 7-0 run to cut its deficit to 66-61 with 2:44 left. 

The Vikings didn't flinch, as a Graves jumper and Hinker and-one extended the AU lead to 71-61 with 1:48 to play. After the Chargers chipped back within six, Graves closed the game with six free throws to help put the game away. 

The Vikings open the 2024 calendar year on January 5th, hosting MSU Moorhead at the Sanford Pentagon, with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m.