ROCK ISLAND -- Staishaun Kelley's offensive rebound and putback with 1.6 seconds left in the game was enough to lift the Augustana Vikings men's basketball team to a 60-57 home victory over the Hamline Pipers on Saturday.

Augustana led for the entirety of the first half, scoring the game's first nine points within the first 3:13 of the contest. Hamline continued to hover around that margin before a three-pointer from Nicolas Giliberto gave the Vikings their first double-digit lead of around the 11-minute mark. The cushion grew to 15 moments later thanks to a Jamal Winston three-pointer to make it up 25-10 score with under 10 minutes to go. Following three minutes of scoreless basketball, the Pipers eventually trimmed the differential to 10 points on two separate occasions, but a layup from Chase Larsen with 40 seconds remaining put the Vikings up 32-20 entering the halftime break. Augie shot 42 percent through the first 20 minutes and had nine different players score points. Hamline finished the opening half 8-23 from the floor and 0-6 from three-point range.

The differential hung around the 10-point mark for the first three minutes of the second half before the Pipers got under 10 for the first time with a pair of free throws at a score of 37-28. The visitors continued to inch closer, cutting the deficit to seven three different instances, with the latest coming at 9:04. From there, the Vikings rattled off six points in a row to bring the score to 50-37 and force a Hamline timeout, seeing three points from Larsen and Kelley each during that span. The Pipers came out of the timeout with the game's next 10 points to create a one-possession contest with six minutes remaining. A layup from Colton Gillingham halted the momentum, but Hamline finally caught up and grabbed its first lead of the game at 57-56 with 1:14 showing on the clock. Kelley hit one of two free throws on the next possession to even the score and the Augie defense forced a shotclock violation to get the ball back with 26 seconds left.

Out of a timeout, Evan Ambrose took a drive into the left side of the lane and fired up a running hook shot that fell into the hands of Kelley crashing weak side, who put it into the basket through contact and a foul. Kelley converted the three-point play and a half court heave by the Pipers fell off the mark to allow Augustana to escape with the three-point win.

Kelley led a group of three Vikings in double figures with 15 points, four rebounds, and two steals, while Tyler Knuth and Larsen each added 10 points. As a team, Augustana forced 17 turnovers, with 21 points coming off those Hamline miscues.

With the victory, the Vikings improve to 4-1 on the season. They will venture back on the road to begin CCIW play on Wednesday at Elmhurst.