MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University understood it would need to be close to perfect to upend No. 5 ranked Augustana College.

The Beavers were not perfect to start and the Vikings took full advantage.

Augustana College opened a double-digit lead before the first media timeout and held off everything Minot State came up with after that, winning 87-58 in front of a season-high 1,576 fans at the MSU Dome.

"When you're playing a highly ranked team you really have to execute on both ends and you can't give away possessions," said MSU head coach Matt Murken. "I thought we really had some bad possessions early on the offensive end that led to transition opportunities for them. They're too good to do that against."

The combination of slow MSU (11-11 overall, 6-10 NSIC) play and a hot-shooting Vikings team put the Beavers in a hole right away. And, while Minot State made some runs, Augie had more than enough offensive firepower to hold the Beavers off.

"It's been a team effort when we've won. When we've won we've had multiple guys step up," Murken said. "Usually it's the fault of everyone has break downs and certainly that was the case tonight."

The loss spoiled a career night for freshman Tyler Rudolph (F, Bismarck, N.D.). Rudolph hit two 3-pointers and went 7 for 9 from the floor for 19 points and added three rebounds.

"He's used to playing in big games as a high school kid," said Muken. "He's really tough physically. He's really tough minded mentally. That's a big reason why we wanted to add him to our program. He's going to be a big part of our program going forward. He had a really good game tonight. I thought he really competed as hard as anybody."

But the Vikings (21-1, 15-1) countered with five in double figures and shot 55.4 percent from the field, including 10-of-19 shooting from beyond the arc.

Casey Schilling led all scorers with 20 points and added six rebounds for Augie. Daniel Jansen and Adam Beyer chipped in with 14 apiece and Jansen finished with seven rebounds in the win.

Along with Rudolph, Lamont Prosser (Sr., F, Fort Wayne, Ind.) reached double figures for MSU, scoring 16. He was 7 for 9 from the floor and finished with six rebounds. Everett Robinson (Sr. G, Grand Junction, Colo.) finished with eight points, five rebounds and two blocks for MSU.

Minot State heads back on the road for a pair of NSIC games next week, playing at Concordia-St. Paul Friday and Minnesota State Saturday.