SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Augustana men's basketball team opened 2026 with a 76-73 loss against Wayne State on Saturday afternoon inside the Elmen Center. 

Sam Rensch and Tameron Ferguson led the offense with 22 points apiece with Rensch leading the team with three steals and five 3-pointers and Ferguson finishing with a team-high seven assists to go with six rebounds. Tanner Te Slaa scored 14 points while Conner Kraft and Caden Hinker combined for 15 rebounds. 

The Vikings raced to a 16-8 lead in the first five minutes of action, punctuated by an emphatic block on the defensive end by Fried and capped by a 3-pointer from Rensch on the offensive end. The Wildcats scored the next five points and went on to counter every basket from the Vikings until the score sat at 30-28 with 6:59 to go in the first half. 

Te Slaa got to the basket for a layup and Rensch knocked down a 3-pointer to grow the Viking lead to 35-28 and put an end to the back-and-forth action for just a moment. After a WSC jumper, Kraft knocked down a 3-pointer to make the lead 38-30 with 4:35 to play in the half. 

WSC scored the next nine points to claim a 39-38 lead. Ferguson and Rensch combined to score the next five points but the Wildcats knocked down a 3-pointer before the buzzer to give AU a 43-42 lead. The Vikings knocked down nine 3-pointers in the half while Rensch scored 14 points and Ferguson added 11 points, six assists and four rebounds to power AU.


The second half scoring opened with a Wildcat jumper before Rensch knocked down a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to give AU a 46-44 lead. After nearly three minutes of scoreless basketball, Te Slaa got a layup and the Wildcats knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 48-47 Vikings with 16:30 to go. 

The WSC 3-pointer ignited a 7-0 run, growing its lead to 51-48 before tip-in's from Kraft and Bennett Fried reclaimed the lead for the Vikings at 52-51. With 11:12 to go, Rensch got to the bucket and converted an and-one to give the Vikings a 56-55 lead. It would be their final lead of the night as the Wildcats scored the next 10 points to grow its largest lead of the game at 65-56 with 7:28 to play.

Ferguson went on to score the next four points while Te Slaa added a jumper with 3:57 to go, capping a 6-0 run and bringing AU within 65-62. For the next 3:30 of action, every two points scored by one team was followed by two points from the other. 

That stretch ended when WSC went one of two at the line and Ferguson got to the basket for a layup with 11 seconds remaining, bringing the Vikings back within 72-70. The Wildcats knocked down four consecutive free throws and Te Slaa hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to bring the game to its final score. 

The Vikings continue their home stretch on Friday, hosting Jamestown at 5:30 p.m., inside the Elmen Center.