OSHKOSH, Wis. – The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team was defeated in their season opener on Saturday, falling to the No. 17 ranked UW-Oshkosh Titans on the road by a score of 90-70.
 
It was a slow start to the first couple of minutes to the new season for the Vikings as the nationally-ranked Titans jumped out to an 11-0 advantage within the first three minutes. Oshkosh's lead grew to 15 two different occasions in the opening half, but the Vikings responded with a 9-0 run late to cut the margin to as low as six. The two teams traded baskets over the course of the final four minutes, with the Titans capping off the first 20 minutes of action with a buzzer-beating three to push their lead to 11 at 51-40 at the break.
 
Dan Carr scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half. He also grabbed 14 rebounds in the contest.
 
The Vikings shrunk the deficit to single digits at 53-46 early on in the second half, but the Titans blew the game open with a 16-2 scoring burst to push the differential to their largest at 21. Augustana never got it below 14 the rest of the way and Oshkosh countered any runs from the Vikings with one of their own, padding the margin up to 21 once more before the game ended with a final score of 90-70.
 
The Titans finished the contest shooting 55 percent from the floor compared to the Vikings' 49 percent mark. Augustana was -4 in the rebounding category and committed 19 turnovers that lead to 28 Oshkosh points. Augie forced 15 UWO turnovers, but converted those into just 14 points.
 
Matt Hawkins joined Carr in double figures, ending with 14 points on 5-7 shooting in his collegiate debut. Nate Ortiz added 10 points. The Vikings were without Carter Duwa, who was the team's second leading scorer in 2020-21 at over 16 points per game.
 
Up next, Augie will face off with No. 16 Dubuque in their home opener on Friday, November 12. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from inside the Carver Center.