SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Augustana basketball team used a big second half to knock off Minnesota Duluth, 96-84, on Saturday night in the Elmen Center. 

Trailing by four at the half, the Vikings (14-7, 12-4 NSIC) outscored the Bulldogs 59-43 in the final 20 minutes to secure their sixth straight victory. AU shot 62.5 percent (30 of 48) from the field and 12 of 19 from deep while holding the Bulldogs (12-10, 8-8 NSIC) to 47.7 percent (31 of 65) from the field and 9 of 15 from 3-point range.

Tanner Te Slaa tied a season-high with 22 points while knocking down all five 3-pointers he attempted. Tameron Ferguson added 20 points and six rebounds and Caden Hinker went for 19 points, four assists and three rebounds. Sam Rensch scored 13 points and Brady Helgren tallied 11 points and a team-high five rebounds.

Te Slaa got it rolling early, opening the scoring with a 3-pointer before a Helgren 3-pointer put the Vikings in front 6-0. After four UMD points, Rensch knocked down a 3-pointer of his own to grow the lead to 9-4 early. 

After the lead reached 24-15, UMD went on a 12-0 run to claim a lead at 27-24. Hinker went on to knock in a pair of free throws and Bennett Fried went 1 of 2 to even the score but the Bulldogs scored seven of the next eight points to grow a 34-28 lead. 

Te Slaa ended the run with a 3-pointer and Ferguson hit a pair of free throws to pull the Vikings within one but the Bulldogs answered with a 3-pointer to grow the lead back to two possessions. Each team scored four points in the final 1:49 to bring the halftime score to 41-37 in favor of UMD.

The Bulldogs hit a jumper to open the second half scoring but Helgren converted an and-one to inch closer. After a UMD bucket, AU scored seven of the next nine points, capped by a Ferguson 3-pointer to even the game at 47-47. 

For the next five minutes, the teams alternated baskets until a Tanner Te Slaa 3-pointer started a 13-2 run to push the Vikings to a big lead. Hinker followed Te Slaa with a layup and Amari Westmoreland-Vendiola added a layup of his own to take a three-point lead. UMD got a 2-pointer and Te Slaa hit a 3-pointer and-one to double up the lone Bulldog basket in the run. Hinker capped the run with a jumper to give AU a 74-67 lead with 6:37 to go. 

Four Bulldog free throws brought them back until a Hinker 3-pointer and Ferguson free throws with 5:01 to go brought the lead back up to 79-71. After a UMD jumper, Westmoreland-Vendiola got a layup and Hinker converted a 3-pointer and-one to take the lead to 85-73 with 3:14 to go. 

Two 3-pointers from the Bulldogs cut the Viking lead in half before six Te Slaa points fueled an 8-0 run to give the Vikings their largest lead of the night at 93-79. UMD scored five points and the Vikings scored three points to bring the game to its final score. 

The Vikings return to the road on Friday night, going to the Twin Cities to take on Concordia-St. Paul.