WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team defeated the No. 3 UW-La Crosse Eagles in the championship game of the Wisconsin Dells Tournament on Saturday. 

In the opening period, Augie grabbed the early lead after a 7-3 run. A three-point shot by Dom Rhoden moved the difference to five after five minutes of play. At 13:43, the Vikings converted seven straight points to lead by eight with a score of 17-9. The Eagles followed with a successful shot, but a three-pointer by Caden Workman brought the gap to nine. Augustana saw this difference once more before a free throw by Ray Maurchie pulled the gap to double-digits before Marieon Anderson tallied a shot to create a 26-14 game. A late six-point run by UW-La Crosse moved the difference to three, but the Vikings pulled ahead once more with layups by Workman and Dani Romero. The Eagles grabbed two points from the charity line, but Augie maintained the 32-27 lead entering the halftime break. 

Returning to the court, UW-La Crosse pulled within two, but Augie followed with three after shots by Romero and Maurchie to lead 35-30. The teams traded shots before a free throw by Rhoden pushed the difference to six, and the team saw this gap twice more. The Eagles converted an 8-2 run to even the score at 44-44 with 13:44 on the clock. A three-point shot by Jake Willems moved Augie ahead once more before UW-La Crosse secured the small lead after four straight points at 48-47. The Vikings followed with four of their own to regain the upper hand with 11:49 on the clock. The Eagles moved the difference to one, but Augie put up the next four to stretch the difference to five at 55-50. The teams rallied shots, and UW-La Crosse drew the score even once again at 61, but the Vikings grabbed the next eight points with shots by Andre Klaver and Ethan Andre. UW-La Crosse squashed the score to four, and the Augie pulled ahead by double-digits after a layup by Klaver. The Vikings found the 10-point gap once again after a layup by Rhoden and a dunk by Anderson. The Eagles nailed a three-pointer with six seconds left, but Augie held the advantage to seal the 82-75 victory. 

Four Vikings scored double digits in the win, with Klaver leading with 18. Romero followed with 12 points, while Anderson and Willems had 10. Anderson led with nine rebounds, while Romero and Klaver had three assists. 

With the win, Augie moves to 6-4 on the season and will be back in action on Dec. 30 to host DePauw.