SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Despite big nights from Akoi Akoi and Sam Rensch, the Augustana men's basketball team fell 86-80 at the hands of Sioux Falls on Tuesday night inside the Elmen Center. 

The Vikings fall to 10-15 overall and 7-12 in the NSIC while the Cougars jump to 13-12, 9-10. 

Akoi finished the night with 25 points, including 16 in the second half, on 11 of 17 shooting. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished three assists. Rensch added 25 points on 8 of 13 shooting while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds and getting two steals. Tanner Te Slaa had 12 points, all in the first half, and Tameron Ferguson dished a career-high nine assists. 

After USF opened with a 4-3 lead, Ferguson finished off an offensive rebound and Te Slaa scored nine straight off three 3-pointers to take a 14-4 lead after 4:36 of action. The Cougars got back within six but Rensch knocked down his second 3-pointer of the game to end the mini-run and put the Vikings in front 19-10 with 11:41 to go in the half. 

After the AU lead was cut back to six, Rensch and Akoi combined for nine points in an 11-2 run that saw them knock down five of six shots to grow the Viking lead to 32-17 with 7:07 until the half. 

The lead crept up to 16 before a 15-4 USF flurry brought them back within 39-34. Akoi ended the run with a 3-pointer at the 2:18 mark and after a pair of Jack Hastreiter free throws, the Cougars scored the final five points of the half to trim the deficit to 44-39 at halftime.

Akoi opened the second half with a midrange jumper but an 11-2 USF run put the Cougars in front 50-48 through 3:04 of action. Four straight Rensch points put the Vikings back in front and Akoi would score four in a 6-0 run after a USF layup to regain a 58-52 lead with 14:06 to play in the game. 

From there, the two teams combined to shoot 15 of 23 from the field while the Cougars outscored AU 23-15 to take a 75-73 lead with five minutes to play. The Vikings were able to even the score at 78-78 after a Fried dunk in transition with 2:45 to play. USF took over from there, scoring eight of the final 10 points to bring the game to its final score. 

The Vikings return to the Sanford Pentagon this weekend, starting with a Friday night matchup against Bemidji State. Tip-off is slate for 5:30 p.m.