SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana men's basketball team hosts its second of four consecutive games on Tuesday afternoon, hosting Sioux Falls in the Elmen Center. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m., in the final regular season game of 2024-25 in the Elmen Center.

Complete action can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app, presented by The Original Pancake House. The app can be downloaded in the App Store or Google Play.

About the Cougars 
Sioux Falls was picked to finish seventh in the NSIC and has opened the season 12-12 overall, 8-10 in the NSIC while entering the weekend on a three game losing streak. Noah Puetz averages 13.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 45.9 percent from the field. He is one of five averaging in double figures. Creighton Morisch is adding 13.6 points per game while bringing down 10.8 rebounds per game.

About the Vikings
Augustana is 10-14 overall and 7-11 in the NSIC after dropping Saturday's game against Minnesota Duluth. The Vikings are tied for 11th in the NSIC and in-line for a first round NSIC Tournament game on the road.

Tanner Te Slaa holds the team lead with 14.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 39.6 percent from deep on 59 makes. He also leads the NSIC with a 86.3 percent free throw percentage. 

Akoi Akoi is second on the Vikings with 13.3 points per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the field. He is also second on the team with 58 assists, 82.4 free throw percentage and 16 blocks. 

Sam Rensch adds 11.5 points per game and 1.6 steals per game while providing havoc to a defense that ranks third in the NSIC in turnover margin.

Tameron Ferguson continues to grow into his own while running the point for the Vikings. Ferguson has scored in double figures for the 10 times in his last 14 games and has shot 47.4 percent from he field in that span. He scored a career-best 25 points against Concordia-St. Paul on Dec. 14. 

The true freshman is fourth on the team with 9.5 points per game and has facilitated well, holding a 77/27 assist/turnover ratio. Ferguson ranks first in the NSIC and 22nd nationally with a 2.85 assist/turnover ratio. 

In his first season of action, Bennett Fried has already shown growth. The redshirt freshman is averaging 7.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. In 18 games since entering the starting lineup, Fried is averaging 8.7 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting at a 56.4 percent clip. 

Against No. 13 SMSU on Jan. 30, Jack Hastreiter had a career night from deep to power the win. He scored a career-high 24 points on 8 of 9 shooting, including 7 of 7 from deep. Hastreiter had the second most makes without a miss in program history.

Kelton Coleman has been the microwave off the bench for the Vikings. The sophomore has scored double digits seven times this season, including a season-high 19 in 22 minutes against Minnesota Duluth on Saturday. He is sixth on the team with 7.7 points per game, a number that balloons to 11.3 points per game over the last seven games. 

Trends To Watch
The Vikings are 8-4 when leading at the half this season. The defense has propelled AU as they are 7-2 when holding teams under 70 points. Offensively, the engine runs when the 3-pointers fall. The Vikings are 4-2 on the season when making more 3-pointers than their opponent. AU also sees success when they clean up the glass, touting a 7-2 record when they out-rebound their opponents.

Series History
Augustana and Sioux Falls will match up for the 84th time all-time with the Vikings leading 42-41. USF has won the four previous meetings, with the last AU home win coming at the Stewart Center in 2022. The Vikings are 23-14 all-time at home.

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