ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team rolled to a dominant 87–53 road victory over the Bethel Royals.

Augustana set the tone early, jumping out to a 6-2 lead behind early finishes from Cam Atkinson, Jake Willems, and Staishaun Kelley. After Bethel briefly trimmed the deficit to 6–5, the Vikings erupted on a 12–0 run sparked by Kelley in the paint and steals from Atkinson and Andre Klaver leading to layups. The surge pushed the lead to 18–5,and with 9:25 to go in the first half Dani Romero would bury a big three to push the lead to 25-11. Bethel fought to keep pace, but the Vikings' defensive pressure overwhelmed the Royals throughout the half. Augustana forced 12 first-half turnovers, turning them into 20 points the other way. A late layup from Marieon Anderson sent the Vikings into the break with a commanding 41–23 advantage.

Augustana continued to pour it on in the second half, quickly extinguishing a Bethel rally that close the lead to 11. Klaver buried a three with 9:52 to play and Ray Maurchie would follow up on the next possession with a trey of his own to stretch the margin past 20. Bethel would push back to just a 17-point deficit before Romero would get a layup to go and Kelley followed up with a three to make the score 71-49. Romero, Willems, and Dom Rhoden would all find baskets to stretch the lead before the Vikings would sub in their depth with 3:08 to play leading 77-49. The Viking would cruise from there to seal the 34-point win with a final score of 87-53.

The Vikings' bench provided a major spark as well, contributing 41 points on the night, including six from Eli Aldana and four from Rhoden. Klaver led the way off the bench with a game-high 20 points on an efficient 9-of-13 shooting, adding four rebounds, three steals, and an assist. Willems followed with 14 points and four boards, while Romero and Anderson each chipped in eight points while grabbing six and five boards respectively. Atkinson added eight points of his own, and Kelley filled the stat sheet with seven points, four rebounds, four assists, and four steals. In total, 13 Vikings recorded a point.
 
Augustana shot 55.1 percent from the field, scored 48 points in the paint, and turned 20 Bethel turnovers into 28 points. Defensively, the Vikings held the Royals to 32.1 percent shooting and just 5-of-28 from beyond the arc.
 
The Vikings improve to 2-0 return to action Sunday versus Hamline to finish up their St. Paul road-trip.