ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Augustana men's basketball team earned its seventh consecutive victory, including its fifth straight road win, on Thursday night, knocking off Concordia-St. Paul 88-81 at the Gangelhoff Center. 

The Vikings (15-7, 13-4 NSIC) shot 53.7 percent (29 of 54) from the field and 58.6 percent (17 of 29) from deep while the Golden Bears (15-8, 10-7 NSIC) was 30 of 60 from the field but just 9 of 29 from beyond the arc. 

Caden Hinker was dialed from deep, scoring 23 points while making 7 of 9 3-pointers to lead the offense. Sam Rensch added 16 points and four steals while Tameron Ferguson nearly recorded a triple-double, finishing with 12 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. 

Tanner Te Slaa knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points and four assists while Bennett Fried added 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting. 

Rensch opened the scoring with a 3-pointer while Brady Helgren and Hinker each hit a 3-pointer of their own to sandwich CSP buckets and give the Vikings a 9-5 lead. After two CSP 3-pointers put them in front, Te Slaa started a 12-0 run and Hinker ended it with another 3-pointer to put the Vikings in front 21-11 at the 14:50 mark of the first half. 

After a CSP bucket, Fried scored five straight points to build the lead up to 26-13. Following a Golden Bears 3-pointer, the teams traded points until a pair of Amari Westmoreland-Vendiola free throws put the Vikings ahead 40-29 at the 6:03 mark in the first half.

CSP scored the next five points to cut their deficit to six. Rensch went on to hit a 3-pointer to separate runs but the Golden Bears countered with a 6-0 run to get within 45-42. In the final 2:04, Te Slaa hit a pair of 3-pointers and Rensch made a layup while CSP scored four points to give AU a 53-46 lead at the break.

The teams combined to shoot 37 of 61 from the field and 19 of 35 from deep as each team displayed high-level shotmaking early. The Vikings made 11 of 18 from deep to separate themselves. Hinker knocked down four of those 3-pointers for 12 points, Rensch had 10 points and three steals and Ferguson filled it up with five points, four rebounds and seven assists. 

A pair of free throws opened the scoring for CSP and Rensch answered with a 3-pointer to add to the AU lead. Ferguson followed with a layup but a 7-1 Golden Bear run put them right back within 59-54 at the 14:31 mark. 

Fried and Ferguson sandwiched a CSP layup with jumpers to bring their lead back to seven points. After Ferguson answered a Golden Bear layup with one of his own, CSP scored eight of the next 10 points to pull within one before a Hinker 3-pointer put AU ahead 70-66. 

CSP went on to even the score at 70-70 with 6:35 to play in the game. Te Slaa answered with a 3-pointer, Hinker knocked down one of his own after a CSP layup and Rensch followed a Golden Bear turnover with a 3-pointer of his own to blow the lead right back up to 79-72 with 3:48 to go. 

With 1:09 to play and AU leading by four, Hinker delivered the dagger. Late in the shot clock, he sent a 3-pointer to the sky, dropping it in to put the Vikings in front 84-77. Each team hit four free throws the rest of the way to bring the game to its final score. 

The Vikings finish their week on Saturday, traveling to take on Winona State at 3 p.m.