ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -  The Cody Schilling era opened in an emphatic way as Augustana knocked off No. 20 Northwest Missouri State 72-50 on Friday afternoon to open the Hillyard Tipoff Classic. 

Schilling becomes the first Augustana men's basketball head coach to win his AU debut since Gary Thomas knocked off Sioux Falls in 1992. The Vikings were efficient from the field, shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from deep while limiting the Bearcats to 35.7%/25.0%. Sam Rensch led a balanced effort with 17 points on 7 of 14 shooting while grabbing five rebounds and nabbing four steals. 

The newcomers made an instant impact to help the Vikings to victory. Tanner Te Slaa tallied a double double in his AU debut, scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, and Tameron Ferguson added 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Jack Hastreiter was the leader of the bench mob for this one with eight points and three steals. In all, eight Vikings played in their first action with the Navy and Gold. 

Rounding out the returners in the starting lineup, Brady Helgren was efficient on the block, scoring 10 points on 5 of 9 shooting with five rebounds and a career-high five assists, and Akoi Akoi had five points, five rebounds and four assists while earning a +21 on the court. The Vikings outscored NWMSU 21-8 off turnovers, 36-18 in the paint, 12-2 on second chance points and 13-1 off the fast break in a dominant performance. 

A back-and-forth opening saw a 12-12 tie into the first media timeout with 14:04 to go in the first half. Over the next six minutes, the Vikings took a 9-2 run to carry a 21-14 lead with 8:10 to go in the first half. 

The Bearcats scored the next five points to get within two points with 6:08 to play in the half. Rensch ended the run with a 3-pointer and Te Slaa added a 3-pointer of his own to grow the lead back to eight at 27-19 with 4:14 left in the half. That lead would fall back to four but a Ferguson layup and Akoi 3-pointer on the final two possessions of the half helped the Vikings bring a 35-26 lead into the locker room. 

Seven of the eight Vikings to take the court in the first half made a basket in the half while the Vikings held the Bearcats to 3 of 16 shooting to help mount their halftime lead. 

After a 5-0 NWMSU run opened the second half, a Te Slaa 3-pointer, Ferguson floater and Rensch steal and layup and Ferguson jumper helped give the Vikings a 44-32 lead with 15:13 remaining. 

After a Bearcat bucket just before the media, Ferguson, Rensch, Hastreiter and Helgren combined on a 17-2 run to help explode the AU lead to 61-36 with 7:50 to play. The Vikings weathered every storm from there, trading baskets until a Rensch layup with 3:21 remaining brought the AU lead to 70-46. Each team scored a basket before a Bearcat layup just before time expired brought the game to its final score. 

Up Next
The Vikings close out the Hillyard Tipoff Classic on Sunday afternoon, taking on host Missouri Western at 4 p.m.