MARSHALL, Minn. – Augustana's Isaac Fink scored a career-high 37 points on 14 of 19 shooting with seven 3-pointers to lead the Vikings to a 103-74 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball on Saturday afternoon inside the R/A Facility.
 
The Vikings improve to 8-1 overall, 2-1 NSIC, with the victory, while the Mustangs dropped their second straight and fall to 5-3 overall, 1-2 NSIC.
 
Augustana closed the game shooting 59 percent (41 of 70) from the field, including 10 of 19 from 3-point range. The Vikings finished shooting 64 percent with six 3-pointers in the second half.
 
SMSU was led by Grant Kramer, who finished with a team-high 16 points with three 3-pointers. Kenny Byers added 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting and in the process reached the 1,000-point mark for his career. Byers reached the milestone with 2:29 left in the first half and is the 25^th player in team history to score 1,000 points. Anthony Costello and Cliff McCray both scored 10 points to round out SMSU's double figure scoring.
 
SMSU finished the game shooting 53 percent (26 of 49) from the field, but Augustana held a 35-24 rebound advantage which led to a 26-8 scoring edge in second-chance points.
 
The two clubs played a tight opening eight and a half minutes with the score tied at 18. The Vikings then heated up and used a 7-0 run to build a 25-18 lead at the 9-minute mark.
 
SMSU trailed 36-29 with 4:14 remaining following a pair of Kramer free throws, but Augustana answered by closing the half on a 15-4 run to build a 51-33 halftime advantage.
 
The Vikings made four 3-pointers and shot 53 percent in the first half, while also holding a 21-11 rebound advantage, which led to 15 second-chance points.
 
Augustana would continue to shoot at a high-level to open the second half in building a 66-43 lead with 14:40 left in the game.
 
McCray would score on a layup with 11 minutes remaining to cut the deficit to 70-53, but the Vikings stopped every Mustang comeback attempt and cruised to their seventh straight victory in Marshall.
 
Southwest Minnesota State continues home play next Friday and Saturday facing Winona State and Upper Iowa.