FAYETTE, IOWA – The Augustana men's basketball team cruised past Upper Iowa, 86-65, Saturday in Fayette, Iowa. The win brings AU back to .500 with a 12-12 overall record and an 8-10 record in the NSIC. UIU moves to a 13-11 overall record and sits 10-8 in the loop.
The Vikings caught an early stride seeing two 3-pointers drop bringing a 6-0 lead early. Jadan Graves and Isaac Fink were responsible for the run foreshadowing the scoring to come.
With the help of a 24-2 scoring run in the favor of the Vikings, Augustana bridged a 27-point scoring gap in the first half. Graves caught momentum in the opening half, leading AU with 14 points and five assists. He found his footing behind the arc seeing his first 3-pointer of the night fall within the first minute of the contest. In just the first 20 minutes of play, Graves saw four of his five attempts behind the arc drop while also seeing 5-of-7 shots in the field fall through the net.
Upper Iowa chipped away at Augustana's lead, cutting it to 20-points at the 13:25 mark. However, Graves continued his prolific performance from deep, knocking down his fifth 3-pointer of the night pulling Augustana back up to a 23-point advantage.
At the half, AU shot 66.7 percent from the field while knocking down 63.6 percent from behind the arc. The Viking defense held the Peacocks to 25.8 percent in the field and a staggering 13.3 percent from the 3-point line.
Graves led with 14 points, being 5-of-7 from the paint and 4-of-5 from the 3-point line, Graves also led the Vikings with five assists. Fink recorded 12 points and led AU with six rebounds.
Both squads would trade back-and-forth points until a 5-0 run from Caden Hinker pushed AU ahead.
The Peacocks stayed at the Vikings heels taking advantage of the charity stripe and shots in the paint to grasp a 9-2 scoring run. Graves would soon see his sixth and final 3-pointer of the night fall, granting him his 23rd point of the night.
Augustana held off UIU despite two 3-pointers for the Peacocks. A final layup from Eric Tiedman granted Augustana an 86-65 victory over Upper Iowa.
Overall, Augustana was led by Graves with 23 points, while recording five assists. Fink was close behind with 19 points and nine rebounds. While Hinker was the final Viking in double-digits with 12 points. Sam Rensch led AU with a career-high four steals.
Augustana returns to the hardwood of the Sanford Pentagon next weekend to play host to Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State on Friday and Saturday. Friday's game is slated for 5:30 p.m. while Saturday is a 3:30 p.m. start.
–GoAugie.com–
