SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (8-16, 6-14 NSIC) was unable to make it three wins in a row as they fell 92-71 at Augustana (16-10, 11-9 NSIC) on Saturday night.
 
The Vikings cooled down a Golden Bears squad that has been playing well over the past few contests as they made it 17 straight wins in the series, improving to 24-5 all-time and 12-1 in Sioux Falls.
 
Incredibly, CSP was far more efficient from the field than Augustana as they hit 51.9% (27-52) overall and 40.0% (8-20) from deep while holding the Vikings to 43.8% (32-73) and 33.3% (9-27) from three-point range.
 
Extra opportunities made the difference for Augie as they attempted 21 more shots and nine more free throws after claiming a 17-3 edge on the offensive glass, a 44-34 overall rebounding edge as well as a 16-8 edge in forced turnovers. Those factors results in a 27-5 edge in points off turnovers as well as a 19-2 edge in second chance points. CSP did, however, hold a 38-28 advantage in points in the paint as well.
 
Four out of five of Concordia's starters reached double digits in scoring on the night as Jacob Shields also reached the mark off the bench. Shields matched Lee Higgins for the team lead with 14 points as Shields hit 5-8 shots and added four blocks and four boards while Higgins connected on 5-7 from the floor, 2-4 from three-point range with five rebounds and three assists.
 
Cody Carlson added 12 points and a team-best seven rebounds while Jordan Coblin had 11 points and six boards and Max Keefe reached 10 points.
 
Dylan LeBrun paced the Vikings with a team-best 23 points, six assists and four steals while Tyler Riemersma tacked on 13 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double in the win.
 
Augie got off to a flying start with the first five points of the game as a part of a 14-3 run over the first five and a half minutes. The lead hovered around double figures for the rest of the half as it grew to 14 at 30-16 with 7:26 to go before the break before CSP chipped it down to nine at 32-23 a few minutes later with back-to-back buckets. 11 of the next 15 points went in favor of the Vikings as their lead reached the largest margin of the half at 43-27 with 2:33 on the clock before the Golden Bears trimmed it to 46-32 heading to the locker room.
 
With five of the first seven points in the second half, Concordia had the deficit back down to 11, but it was all Augie from there as they quickly pushed their lead out to 21 at the 14:48 mark with 14 of the next 18 points. CSP managed to pull back within 16 at 64-48 three minutes later, but Augustana wasted little time regaining a comfortable lead with a 10-3 run to make it 74-51. The lead remained 20 or above the rest of the way, growing to as many as 27 in the final few minutes before the Vikings finished off the 92-71 win.
 
Concordia closes out the regular season at home next weekend as Winona State and Upper Iowa come to town.