ROCK ISLAND, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team was tripped up by the visiting North Park Vikings on Sunday evening from inside the Carver Center, falling by a score of 60-58 in a CCIW battle.

Augie jumped out to a quick 24-2 lead in the opening six minutes after connecting on five made three-pointers over that span. The home team Vikings hit 60 percent of their shot attempts in the first half and seven from behind the arc on their way to an 11-point advantage at the break. Luke Johnson tallied 14 of his 20 points in the first 20 minutes of action.

Augustana held on to their double-digit margin for a majority of the beginning 10 minutes of the second half, growing it back up to 16 at 54-38 with over nine minutes remaining. From there, North Park closed in on Augie with an 8-4 spurt to cut it to 12. Leading 58-46, Augustana went the final five minutes of play without scoring a point as North Park charged back with a 14-0 run to steal the 60-58 victory. A three-point play with 14 seconds left tied the game, followed by an Augustana turnover that led to a game-winning layup with five seconds left for NPU. Johnson's last-second attempt at the basket fell short as Vikings suffered their first home loss of the season.

Joining Johnson in double figures was Dan Carr, posting 12 points and hauling in 16 rebounds. Nate Ortiz had seven.

With the loss, Augustana falls to 5-5 overall and 1-2 in the CCIW. The team will be back in action on Wednesday, December 22nd when they visit UW-Whitewater for a non-conference matchup. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from Whitewater, Wis.