WAUKESHA, Wis. – Augustana suffered through a scoring drought of nearly 11 minutes Thursday and eventually dropped a 65-52 decision to Carroll at Van Male Field House. The loss moved the Vikings to 5-4 on the season and in the CCIW, while the Pioneers improved to 4-6 overall and in the league.
 
The game started out nip-and-tuck, with seven ties and five lead changes in the first ten minutes, while neither team managed a lead of more than three points. Carroll twice led by three in the early going and Augustana went up 14-11 on a Carter Duwa (Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) three-pointer at the 12:21 mark. The Vikings matched that margin when two Jack Jelen (Bay HS, Bay Village, Ohio) free throws put them up 20-17 with 9:23 left in the first half.
 
Those would be the last points the visitors would score before intermission, as they missed nine shots and committed five turnovers during the balance of the half. The Pioneers closed the period with nine straight points to lead 26-20 at the break.
 
A minute and a half into the second stanza, Daniel Carr (Regis Jesuit HS, Highlands Ranch, Colo.) finally got the lid off the basket with a three-pointer that pulled Augustana to within 26-23. The teams traded baskets until a Josh Hudgens layup sparked a 9-0 Carroll run that gave the hosts a 39-27 lead with 15:11 to play.
 
The Vikings would trim the deficit below double digits just once (44-35) the rest of the way—on a Carr layup with 11:40 remaining. Ethan Balinao's three-pointer with 3:18 left gave the Pioneers their biggest lead at 60-43.
 
Carr logged his sixth consecutive double-double, with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Duwa was the only other Augustana player in double digits, finishing with 10 points. Ryan Mendoza came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points for Carroll.
 
The Vikings had their worst shooting night of the year, converting 17 of 48 (.354) field goal attempts. They were six of 20 (.300) from beyond the arc and 12 of 17 (.706) at the free throw line. The hosts shot .426 (23-54) from the floor, .217 (5-23) from three point range and .778 (14-18) from the foul line, had a 32-31 rebounding advantage and committed just eight turnovers to Augustana's 13.
 
The teams will meet again at Carver Center on Saturday, February 27 to wrap up the Vikings' regular season. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.