(SIOUX FALLS, S.D.) — Central Missouri built a big second half lead then withstood a late charge to beat Augustana 75-63 on Sunday afternoon at the Sanford Pentagon Basketball Showcase. The Mules led by as many as 20 in the second half before seeing their lead cut to six late in the game.

The Vikings (0-2) jumped out to an early 9-4 advantage, but then the Mules (2-0) caught fire. A layup by TJ White ignited a 9-0 run that gave the Mules a 13-9 advantage with 12:23 left in the first half. Augustana tied the game with two quick buckets from Evan Pierce. Sean O’Brien‘s layup gave UCM a 15-13 lead, but Daniel Jansen made two foul shots to tie the game at 15-15 with 10:38 remaining in the half.

Casey Schilling’s three-pointer gave AC an 18-17 lead with just under nine minutes on the clock, but a trey from Preston Brunz gave UCM a 20-18 lead they would never relinquish. A 9-0 run by the Mules pushed the lead to nine with 6:26 on to play. The lead was eight with 3:09 remaining in the opening stanza, but UCM closed the half on an 8-2 run, including back-to-back layups by Ryan Donald and Kyle Wolf to lead 48-34 at halftime.

Central Missouri shot 63 percent in the first half, including seven three-pointers.

UCM quickly pushed the lead to 19 out of the intermission on a layup from Brennen Hughes and a three from Ryan Magdziarz. The Vikings trimmed the lead to 14, but a 10-4 spurt gave the Mules their largest lead of the night at 63-43 with 11:41 to play in the game.

That’s when Augustana began to chip away at the UCM lead. After a dunk by Schilling, TJ White made one of two foul shots to give UCM a 64-45 lead with 10:32 on the clock. The Mules went scoreless over the next eight minutes allowing the Vikings to pull within six at 64-58. Jordan Epps halted the streak with a layup at the 2:33 mark to push the lead back to eight at 66-58.

Two trips later, Wolf drilled a three pointer and the lead was back to 11 with 1:23 remaining in the game and the Mules were able to ice the game at the foul line.

UCM shot 47 percent for the game (27 of 57) and made 10 of 22 from beyond the arc for 45 percent. The Mules were 11 of 18 at the free throw line for 61 percent.

Wolf led UCM with a career-high 19 points to go along with six rebounds. Brunz and Daylen Robinson chipped in 10 points apiece and Robinson also had six assists.

The Mules had 13 assists and 13 turnovers in the game, while out-rebounding the Vikings 40-32. UCM’s bench out-scored AC’s bench 34-8.

Augustana was led by Schilling and Jansen’s 20 points each. Schilling added a game-high 13 rebounds for a double-double. Matt Brazendale chipped in 12 points.

The Vikings were 23 of 56 from the floor for 41 percent and made just 4 of 18 from three point range for 22 percent. AC shot 59 percent at the free throw line going 13 of 22.

The Mules return home on Wednesday night to host Tabor College in the home opener. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the UCM Multipurpose Building. The game can be heard live on the 44,000-watt 98.5 The Bar, 1450 KOKO and warrensburgradio.com with Shawn Jones and Greg Hassler on the call. A pay-per-view student-run webcast is also available from the UCM Media Network. The webcast can be accessed at AmericaOneSports.com.

Box Score