FAYETTE, IOWA (UA) – It wasn’t the night No. 23 Augustana men’s basketball was looking for as the Vikings fell at No. 24 Upper Iowa, 84-65, Friday night in Fayette, Iowa. The loss is just the second of the year for Augustana as it falls to 10-2, 4-2 NSIC. Upper Iowa moves to 10-1, 5-1.
Augustana was without the 18 points and 11 rebounds it has become accustomed to from Tyler Riemersma as he missed the game with a non-COVID illness. That allowed Eric Tiedman, a veteran of 58 games at Augustana, to earn his first-career start. In the start, he tallied a career-high eight points.
After jumping ahead 12-7 to start the game, the Vikings hit a scoring drought. All the while, Upper Iowa made shots that would be considered by most as ill-advised attempts. That scoring drought included nine-straight UIU points and a 14-2 Peacock run that gave Upper Iowa a 21-14 lead.
Augustana entered the locker room at halftime trailing, 40-27.
In the early going of the second half, Upper Iowa quickly built a 22-point advantage but Augustana was able to whittle that lead back to 14 points at 71-57. As part of the Vikings cutting into the advantage was a highlight-reel dunk for Dylan LeBrun which was an old-fashioned 3-point play.
Minutes later, a deep Jameson Bryan 3-point basket cut the deficit to 13 points at 77-64 with just under three minutes on the clock. However, Augustana ran out of time on the comeback as the final score settled at 84-65.
Augustana was led by Adam Dykman with 17 points while he added six rebounds. Isaac Fink tallied a game-high eight rebounds. Joining Dykman in double-figure scoring was Bryan with 13 points and LeBrun with 11.
After having Saturday’s game canceled due to COVID-19 protocols with the Winona State men’s basketball program, the Vikings’ 2021 calendar is complete. AU welcomes Wayne State to the Sanford Pentagon on Sunday, Jan. 2 for a 3:30 p.m. start.
