SPEARFISH, S.D. - Akoi Akoi drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key with less than five seconds to play to lift the Augustana men's basketball team (3-1) to a 72-71 victory over Black Hills State (2-2) on Saturday night in the Donald E. Young Sports & Fitness Center. 

Akoi closed the night with 25 points on 11 of 19 shooting while knocking down three 3-pointers. He also added six rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists to help lead the way. Sam Rensch added 22 points on 9 of 18 shooting while collecting a team-high five steals and four 3-pointers. Kelton Coleman added eight points off the bench while Brady Helgren grabbed seven rebounds. 

The Vikings shot 42.4 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from beyond the arc while stifling the Yellow Jackets, forcing them to shoot 37.1 percent from the field and commit 15 turnovers. Augustana led for over 34 minutes of game time and saw an 11 point advantage off the bench. 

In the blink of an eye, AU held a 10-0 lead, scoring on four of its first five possessions. Tanner Te Slaa hit a pair of jumpers before 3-pointers from Rensch and Akoi helped build the early lead. 

BHSU countered with a 9-0 run that brought them within a point but an Akoi 3-pointer with 14:55 left in the quarter extinguished the run and kept AU in front. After a Yellow Jacket 3, Rensch scored a pair of buckets and Akoi added one of his own to lead 19-12 with 11 minutes to go in the first half. 

Balance helped keep the Yellow Jackets in the first half as they crept within two, but a 5-0 run by Coleman brought the AU lead back to seven at 35-28 with 2:31 left in the quarter. The Yellow Jackets knocked down a pair of 3-pointers before half but a Conner Kraft jumper with 39 seconds left gave the Vikings a 37-34 lead into the locker room.

An even opening to the second half saw the AU lead bounce between one and four points for the first three minutes. A Rensch 3-pointer and Akoi pull-up jumper changed things, growing the lead to 44-38. BHSU showed fight, scoring the next eight points for their first lead of the day at  46-44 with 13:22 left. 

The two teams traded leads from then until the final buzzer. Back-and-forth the two teams went as Akoi led a 5-0 run with four points to reclaim a lead, a lead that would be taken right back by the Yellow Jackets at 50-49. A Rensch 3-pointer took the lead right back but a BHSU dunk with 5:43 to play handed them a 58-57 lead with 5:43 to play.

On the game's next possession, Akoi hit a jumper to take the lead back. A Yellow Jacket 3 got canceled out by a Rensch 3 and BHSU free throws were followed by Te Slaa free throws. An  and-one from BHSU gave them a 66-64 lead with 2:18 remaining. 

Rensch continued a stretch of stellar shotmaking, knocking down a pull-up to tie the game. A layup on the other end was followed by a couple stops before an Akoi baseline jumper with 45 seconds left evened the score back up. The Yellowjackets made a layup with 31 seconds left and Malyk Rebetez hit a free throw with 21 seconds left to bring AU within 70-69. That would be the score when Akoi's dagger 3-pointer handed the Vikings their second win of the weekend. 

Up Next
The Vikings will take a 10-day hiatus before opening conference play Nov. 26 at USF. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip.