SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 1 seed Augustana University men's basketball had five players in double-figures, led by senior Daniel Jansen who finished with 32 points, as the Vikings earned a 100-85 win over Harding University (20-11) in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Central Region Tournament on Saturday night at the Sanford Pentagon.
 
Augustana (29-2) advances to the NCAA Central Region Tournament for the second straight season and will play the winner of Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State.
 
With the win, Augustana improved to 11-14 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. The Vikings are currently ranked No. 2 in the country and are hosting the NCAA Central Region Tournament for the second straight season.


 
Jansen finished the game 10 of 13 from the field, hitting 3 of 5 from 3-point range and 9 of 10 free throws for his seventh career 30-plus point game. He has scored 30 or more points in a game three times in 2015-16. Jansen also added six rebounds, two assists and a block.
 
Alex Richter added 18 points on 6 of 12 shooting for the Vikings, connecting on 2 of 6 from behind the arc. Richter made a big impact on the glass finishing with five rebounds, including four on the offensive glass.
 
Jordan Spencer picked up his second double-double of his career putting up 10 points and 10 assists to go along with five rebounds, one block and one steal. Casey Schilling finished the night with 17 points, six assists and five rebounds and Adam Beyer put up 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists, hitting 4 of 9 from behind the arc.
 
Augustana finished the game shooting 49.3 percent from the field, after going 16 of 29 (55.2 percent) in the second half. The Vikings out-rebounded Harding 36-27, including 16-8 on the offensive glass. Augustana finished the night with 15 second-chance points.
 
Harding finished the game shooting 50.9 percent from the field, connecting on 11 of 21 from 3-point range. The Bisons had three players in double-figures, led by Jacob Gibson who finished the night with 21 points. Will Francis hit 5 of 10 3-pointers and added 19 points for Harding, 17 of which he scored in the first half.   
 
The Vikings were firing on all cylinders to start the night racing out to a 15-3 lead behind eight early points from Schilling. Schilling hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the game to help the Vikings go on an early run.
 
Harding's Will Francis got hot from behind the arc to help his team cut Augustana's lead down to seven hitting three from behind the arc in just over a one-minute stretch to the Vikings' lead to seven at 19-12.
 
Alex Richter hit a pair of 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to put Augustana back in front by double-digits and the two big shots helped spark a 15-9 run that allowed the Vikings to take a 41-28 lead with 5:40 remaining in the half.
 
The Bisons cut the lead back to eight with a 5-0 run but the Vikings closed-out the half strong to take a 13-point lead into the locker room. Augustana held a 51-38 halftime lead after a dominating performance on the glass in the first 20 minutes.
 
Augustana was able to force seven turnovers in the first half while giving up just three. The Vikings scored 10 points off of Harding turnovers.  
 
The Vikings out-rebounded Harding 21-11 and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds leading to 13 second-chance points. Augustana had three players in double-figures in the first half led by Jansen's 14 points. Schilling added 13 points and Richter pitched in with 12.
 
Augustana was 17 of 38 (44.7 percent) from the field and hit 6 of 18 from 3-point range. The Vikings were also 11 of 13 from the free throw line, getting 8 of 9 alone from Jansen.
 
Jansen quickly put Augustana up by 15 to start the second half but the Bisons were able to claw their way back to get within 10 after a 3-pointer by Blake McNair made the score 61-51 with 14:32 remaining in the game.  
 
The Vikings answered with a 13-2 run to build a 20-point lead at 73-53 near the midway point of the second half and the Vikings led by as much as 24 as Jansen started to get hot scoring 18 of his 32 points in the second half alone.
 
Beyer hit three of his five 3-pointers in the second half and he put his team in front by 23 at 80-57 with 9:07 left in the game. Later in the half, Jansen scored nine straight points for the Vikings hitting three straight shots from behind the arc to put his team in front 91-67.
 
Augustana will play in the semifinals of the NCAA Central Region Tournament on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon. The Vikings will play the winner of tonight's Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State game.
 
For more information on the NCAA Central Region Tournament, visit www.GoAugie.com/d2mbbcentral.