SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Minnesota State Mavericks made a layup with three seconds remaining to outlast the Augustana men's team 71-70 on Saturday night inside the Sanford Pentagon. 

The Vikings fall to 3-6 overall and 0-3 in the NSIC while the Mavericks jump to 6-4, 2-0.

In his third consecutive start, Bennett Fried had a career night. The redshirt freshman scored 20 points on 9 of 13 shooting while grabbing five rebounds and dishing a pair of assists. Tanner Te Slaa added 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. 

Sam Rensch also contributed in different ways, scoring 10 points while tallying seven rebounds and four assists. Akoi Akoi nearly recorded a double-double, pouring in nine points and nine rebounds. Malyk Rebetez led the team with five assists in a season-high 22 minutes.

Through the first 5:03 of the game, each team scored four points before the offense picked up. The next five minute stretch saw plenty of offense as the Vikings shot 6 of 8 from the field and the Mavericks were 3 of 5 while AU jumped ahead 16-14. 

A Rensch dunk was the only basket for the next 2+ minutes before a Conner Kraft 3-pointer gave the Vikings a seven point lead at 21-14. Seven of the 21 points in the early stages came from Kraft, whose eight points off the bench was a career-best. 

After an MSU layup ended the run, Rensch converted on an and-one to grow the AU lead to 24-16. The Mavericks charged back with the next nine points for a lead before a Tameron Ferguson 3-pointer put an end to it and got the Vikings back in front 27-25 with 4:40 left in the first half. 

The Vikings traded twos for threes on the next four possessions for the game to get deadlocked at 31-31 and the Mavericks closed the half with a 6-2 run to give them a 37-33 lead at the break. 

The MSU run continued in the opening stages of the second half as they scored the first six points to take a double-digit lead. AU continued to claw back, shooting seven of 10 over the next 5:33 of game time to lift a 17-6 run and reclaim the lead at 50-49 with 11:34 remaining. 

An 8-4 Maverick run shifted the game back in favor of MSU but a Te Slaa layup and Fried 3-pointer sandwiched a Maverick jumper to tie the game back at 59-59 with 7:05 to play. The Mavericks went on to miss a pair at the free throw line and Fried hit another 3-pointer for the lead. 

Five consecutive points went to MSU to put them in front by two and Te Slaa hit a 3-pointer to end the mini run and put the Vikings ahead 65-64 with 4:31 to go. The Mavericks inched right back to take a two point lead with 2:19 left. 

With 1:57 to play, Akoi drilled a 3-pointer to put the Vikings in front 70-69. The next four shots, two from each team, missed the mark but the Mavericks delivered the dagger from there, getting to the rim and converting a layup to bring the game to its final score. 

Augustana hits the road next weekend, starting with a Friday night matchup against Minnesota Duluth. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.