SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Augustana Vikings opened its 2024-25 home slate with a 74-65 loss to Truman State on Friday afternoon inside the Elmen Center on day one of the Bill Gross Classic. 

Augustana moves to 3-3 overall while the Bulldogs jump to 4-2. 

Akoi Akoi led the Vikings with 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the field while grabbing three rebounds and dishing two assists. Sam Rensch added 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals and Bennett Fried scored eight points and added a pair of blocks off the bench.

Each team scored on its opening possession, first a Ferguson layup before a Truman 3-pointer. The Bulldogs held a 15-9 lead at the first media timeout but a 5-0 spurt by Augustana brought them within one at 15-14 with 12:47 to go in the half.

That deficit quickly grew to seven points after back-to-back 3-pointers from Truman. After AU got within four, the Fried Show began. 

First, a layup just before the under-10 media timeout. Next, he got out defensively and walled off the lane to the hoop to force a shot-clock violation. The next two times down the court, Fried converted on and-ones to finish off an 8-0 run of his own and give the Vikings a 27-23 lead with 8:15 to go in the half. 

A Truman 3-pointer ended the run but an Akoi jumper on the other end put AU back ahead by three. The Vikings led until the 4:23 mark when a Bulldog 3-pointer tied the score at 33-33. 

A two minute scoreless stretch followed before Te Slaa knocked down three free throws to reclaim  a lead. The Bulldogs scored four more points before halftime and Rensch converted an and-one to give the Vikings a 39-37 lead at the break. 

Akoi opened the second half scoring with a 3-pointer to give the Vikings their largest lead of the game at 42-37. That five point lead held at 48-43 before a 6-0 Truman run gave them a lead at 49-48 with 12:10 to go in the game. Helgren sandwiched a Bulldog 3 with a pair of 2-pointers to tie the game at 52-52 with 10:03 remaining before Truman pulled away. 

A 7-1 run put the Bulldogs up six and after buckets from Akoi and Rensch brought the Vikings within a possession, Truman added a 7-0 run to go ahead 66-57 with 4:08 left. 

After Akoi and Rensch hit threes on the bookends of Bulldog free throws to bring AU within five points at 70-65 with 51 seconds left, Truman scored the final four points to close out the victory. 

The Vikings conclude the Bill Gross Classic on Saturday afternoon, hosting Jamestown at 1 p.m., inside the Elmen Center.