Still, no UND players were complaining after they hung on for the win in front of 2,617 Hyslop Sports Center fans. The win, UND's fifth in six games, kept the Sioux NCAA Division II postseason playoff hopes alive.
"Our goal is to win our final four games, and we're a quarter of the way there," said Mustard, who buried a turnaround jumper with 12.5 seconds left to seal it. "But we know we're going to have to play a lot better than this."
Mustard's basket, the result of a play called in the Sioux huddle during a timeout, gave UND a three-point lead and just enough breathing room. Augustana's chance to force overtime came up just short as Bobby Johnson's 3-point attempt from the right wing at the buzzer was off the mark.
Augustana's plan was to double-team Mustard -- the NCC's third-leading scorer -- as much as possible in hopes of limiting the 6-foot-7 junior's inside scoring muscle. Mustard, however, scored 23 points, but he had to work harder than usual against some rugged Augie inside players.
"Except for that last play, we did a good job on Mustard," Augustana coach Perry Ford said.
With UND leading 74-73, Hunter Berg's shot from the baseline was partially blocked. Two Augustana players went for the ball, but they couldn't hang on and knocked the ball out of bounds with 16.3 seconds left. Six seconds remained on the shot clock.
In the Sioux huddle, Mustard's number was called.
"Coach (Rich Glas) had the confidence to call the play for me," Mustard said. "Hunter (Berg) rolled down and set the screen for me. (Hunter) Reinke got the ball, and I just turned and shot."
Mustard, who went over the 1,000-point mark for his career, wasn't the only player to play big down the stretch. Marcus Travis (19 points) connected on a crucial three-point play with 1:15 remaining. His spin move to the basket, layup and free throw gave the Sioux a 74-70 lead. However, Augustana's Nate White hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with 47 seconds left, cutting UND's lead to 74-73.
Glas said Travis' play was as huge as Mustard's final two points. "Marcus made a play," Glas said. "Sometimes, you need someone to make things happen when things aren't going well."
And that was the story for the Sioux most of the game. UND couldn't put together any runs, but it didn't allow any either.
UND appeared to have control after its 6-0 run -- keyed by Reinke (15) -- gave the Sioux a 71-63 lead with four minutes left. Augustana, however, stormed back, cutting the gap to one (71-70) before Travis' three-point play.
"I had to make that play," said Travis, whose play in the last month has been a factor in UND's drive toward the playoffs. "I had an opening to the basket, so I had to go. We made things happen when we needed to."
UND (10-5 NCC, 16-8 overall) will have to make things happen again tonight against South Dakota State if the Sioux want to remain in the playoff picture.
Augustana, led by White's 20 points, may be a team that will make things happen in the future. The Vikings started three freshmen and two juniors.
"Their second-chance points were huge," Ford said. "That was the difference in the game. On that last shot (by Mustard), we had the ball, but we knocked it out of bounds."
| UND (76) | |||
| Name | FG | FT | Points |
| Mustard | 9-16 | 5-7 | 23 |
| Travis | 7-13 | 3-3 | 19 |
| Behrens | 4-5 | 2-2 | 10 |
| Berg | 1-7 | 1-2 | 4 |
| Jacobson | 1-3 | 2-2 | 5 |
| Larson | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Ristvedt | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Reinke | 6-9 | 3-4 | 15 |
| Badding | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Totals | 28-58 | 16-20 | 76 |
| Augustana (73) | |||
| Berg | 2-3 | 0-1 | 5 |
| Welk | 1-7 | 4-6 | 6 |
| White | 6-11 | 5-5 | 20 |
| Evans | 3-9 | 0-0 | 8 |
| Johnson | 2-8 | 0-0 | 5 |
| Cotta | 1-4 | 0-0 | 3 |
| Burnison | 3-4 | 0-0 | 6 |
| Gaulke | 2-4 | 0-0 | 4 |
| Ruda | 3-4 | 1-1 | 7 |
| Homan | 2-4 | 0-0 | 6 |
| Wilber | 1-2 | 0-0 | 3 |
| Totals | 26-60 | 10-13 | 73 |