ROCK ISLAND, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team was defeated in a close home battle on Monday, falling to the visiting North Central Cardinals by a score of 86-82.

The Cardinals got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 28-17 lead through the first ten minutes of action. That would be the largest the differential for either team as the Vikings stormed back with a 17-4 run to take their first lead. Augie held onto a four-point cushion through 20 minutes after shooting 52 percent from the field and 58 percent from behind the three-point line. A balanced attack saw three players tally eight points apiece in the first half.

Augustana jumped out to their biggest lead of eight points just a few minutes into the second half, hovering around that margin for the first six minutes. The Cardinals slowly inched back, eventually knotting the score at 56-56. The Vikings grabbed the lead right back and pushed the score to plus-six in their favor with just under eight to go. From there, a 9-0 run from North Central gave them their first lead of the second half. Over the course of the next three minutes, the two teams traded baskets and saw themselves deadlocked at 74 with 2:34 showing on the clock. The Cardinals took the lead with three made free throws and never trailed the rest of the way, connecting on nine makes from the charity stripe - including six in the final 30 seconds - to hang on for the four-point victory.

Dan Carr led the Vikings in scoring with 20 points to go with 14 rebounds. Three others cracked double figures as Tyler Knuth had 14, Carter Duwa 13, and Nate Ortiz with 10. Augie shot just under 45 percent for the game, but were outscored by eight at the free-throw line.

With the loss, Augustana drops to 8-8 overall and 3-4 in the CCW. The team will be back in action on Wednesday, January 19 when they host the No. 12 ranked Elmhurst Bluejays. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from inside the Carver Center.