SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana men's basketball team continues its NSIC Tournament trek Saturday as the second-seeded Vikings face sixth-seeded Minnesota Duluth at 7 p.m. in the Sanford Pentagon. The semifinal matchup is the second contest of the day's second session.
 
Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com or at the Pentagon Box Office. Midco Sports and Midco Sports Plus is the exclusive home to viewing the tournament away from the Sanford Pentagon. A subscription is required for Midco Sports Plus while Midco Sports is available on various cable subscriptions.

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 Bulldogs
Minnesota Duluth was picked to finish in a tie for fifth in the NSIC poll and earned the six seed in the NSIC Tournament after winning the NSIC North Division with a 13-9 record. The Bulldogs enter the game following a 75-71 victory against Concordia-St. Paul in the semifinals on Sunday.

Kole Hanson scores 15.2 points per game and was named to the All-NSIC First Team while leading the team with 51 makes from deep on a 39.8 percentage. Noah Paulson is a second team selection after averaging 12.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Caleb Siwick is also a double-figure scorer, pouring in 14.9 points per ame and hitting 49 3-pointers. 

Ferguson's Late-Game Heroics Lift Vikings To Overtime Win
Tameron Ferguson hit a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left in overtime to lift the second-seeded Augustana men's basketball team to a 83-82 victory over 10th-seeded MSU Moorhead in the NSIC Quarterfinals on Saturday night in the Sanford Pentagon.

Ferguson scored 23 points, including the final five points of regulation and the game-winning 3-pointer, while grabbing 10 rebounds, including four offensive rebounds in the second half, with four assists. He shot 9 of 19 from the field, including 8 of 13 in the second half and overtime.

Tanner Te Slaa was the engine in the first half, doing everything he could to keep the Vikings in the game. He finished the night with 19 points and knocked down five 3-pointers with a pair of blocks.

Caden Hinker recorded his first double double since Dec. 18, scoring 12 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Bennett Fried fueled the fire off the bench, finishing the night with 12 points on 5 of 8 shooting while ending the night as a +9.

Tam's Time
Tameron Ferguson's special sophomore season has officially been rewarded. The sophomore from St. Cloud, Minnesota was named NSIC South Division Player of the Year, as voted on by coaches in the conference.

Ferguson averaged 20.0 points, 7.2 assists and 5.3 rebounds in 36.8 minutes per game in NSIC play this season, leading the NSIC in both assists and minutes. He also ranks top five in field goal percentage (51.7 percent), assist/turnover ratio (3.3) and steals per game (1.7).

Ferguson has scored 20 or more points in 19 games this season and recorded five point-assist double doubles, tied for the most in program history. The four-time NSIC South Player of the Week is the only player in the country averaging at least 20.0 points and 6.0 assists per game.

Hinker's Return
After missing all of last season, Caden Hinker earned an All-NSIC First Team selection following a strong return. The redshirt junior has recorded seven double-doubles while leading the team with 6.4 rebounds per game, including 5.7 defensive rebounds per game.

The Mitchell, South Dakota native has also turned himself into a sharpshooter, knocking down 51 3-pointers while making them at a 41.1 percent clip after going just 5 for 39 in his previous two seasons. He's second on the team with 15.6 points per game and scored a career-high 26 points against Winona State on Nov. 18 while grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds against Northwest Missouri State on Nov. 15.

Showtime Sammy
All-Conference Second Team selection Sam Rensch is third on the team with 14.4 points per game. He is second on the team with 2.1 assists per game and has grabbed 3.4 rebounds per contest. He has recorded a steal in 24 of 28 games and has scored at least 30 points in two of his last five games. He also leads the team with 1.6 steals per game.

He has scored double digits in seven of his last 10 games while averaging 16.0 points per game in that stretch. He has made at least two 3-pointers in 15 games on the season and had knocked down at least three of them in four of his last eight games.

Tanner Three Slaa
Tanner Te Slaa is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 10.4 points per game while adding 3.8 rebounds per game. Te Slaa has also made 60 of 71 free throws, a 82.7 percent clip, and made 24 consecutive free throws before a miss on Saturday.

The 2024-25 All-NSIC Second Team honoree has knocked down at least two 3-pointers in 16 games this season, including eight of his last nine games, with the Vikings holding a 13-3 record in those 16 games. The Vikings are also 11-3 when Te Slaa scores in double figures, something he has done in seven of his last nine games. In that nine-game stretch, Te Slaa is averaging 13.2 points per game. 

The Revelation of Brady Helgren
After being inserted into the starting lineup on Jan. 9, Brady Helgren has taken full advantage of his opportunity. The junior scored a career-high 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting against Jamestown on Jan. 9 and followed that on Jan. 10, reseting his career-high with 22 points on 10 of 14 shooting while tying a career-high with nine rebounds.

For the season, Helgren is averaging 5.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game after grabbing a career-best 12 boards against Minnesota State on Feb. 12. In his 15 starts, those averages jump to 7.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

Feed Fried
Bennett Fried had one of the best games of his young career on Dec. 11, tying a career high with 20 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 9 of 13 from the field against St. Cloud State. He has scored in double figures 12 times, including all five times he has taken at least eight shots from the field. He's fifth on the team with 8.2 points per game while grabbing 3.5 rebounds per game and shooting 65.7 percent from the field. In his last 12 games, Fried has shot 79.2 percent (38 of 48) from the field.