Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – Augustana University tied an R/A Facility record with 16 3-pointers, while the Vikings' Jordan Spencer poured in a career-high 39 points, as Augustana pulled away late to earn a 97-79 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in NSIC men's basketball on Saturday night.
 
Augustana (19-7, 14-6 NSIC) connected on 16 of 27 3-pointers and finished the game shooting 55 percent (34 of 62) from the field. AU made 18 of 30 field goal attempts (60 percent) in the second half.
 
SMSU (20-5, 15-5 NSIC), ranked No. 21 in this week's D2SIDA Top 25 poll, shot just 33 percent in the second half as Augustana outscored SMSU 48-34 in the second half. SMSU finished the night shooting 45 percent (23 of 51) from the field, including 8 of 21 from 3-point range.
 
Ryan Bruggeman led the Mustangs with 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting, while Joey Bartlett added 16 points. KJ Davis (15) and Taylor Schafer (10) also reached double figure scoring for the Mustangs.
 
The night belonged to Spencer, who made 14 of 21 field goals, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. He also had six rebounds, two steals and two assists. He finished four points shy of tying the R/A Facility for points scored in a game.
 
Augustana jumped out to an early seven-point lead in the game's first four minutes, but SMSU slowly rallied and took its first lead of the game midway through the half at 25-23 on a 3-pointer by Schafer.
 
SMSU would later build a 31-26 lead following a field goal by Turner Moen, but Augustana answered with a 9-2 run to build a 37-33 lead with 4:27 remaining.
 
The Vikings would later hold a 43-36 lead before taking a 49-45 advantage at the break.
 
Augustana made 11 of 18 3-pointers in the opening half and shot 50 percent from the field. SMSU made 6 of 8 3-pointers in the first half and finished shooting 58 percent.
 
AU used a 7-0 run early in the second half to take a 64-49 lead with 14:50 left in the game.
 
SMSU would not go away and rallied back to within 67-64, with 10:55 after two free throws by Bartlett. Davis would later complete a three-point play to trail 70-67 with nine minutes left in the game, but Augustana countered with five straight points and eventually built a lead of 86-75 with 4:44 remaining.
 
SMSU made one last comeback attempt—cutting the deficit to 86-77 with 3:56 to play—but AU would close the game on an 11-2 run to earn revenge from SMSU's win at Augustana on Dec. 30.
 
Southwest Minnesota State concludes the regular season next weekend starting with a road match-up versus Minnesota State on Friday, Feb. 17, starting at 8 p.m.