NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team was defeated on the road Wednesday night, falling to the North Central Cardinals by a score of 73-68 in their second and final regular season meeting of the year.

The two teams had an efficient opening half, with each boasting an above-50 percent shooting percentage to lead to the 37-37 deadlock at the break. The half saw nine ties throughout the opening 20 minutes, with North Central coming out ahead to take the lead six different times in the final 5:30. Augie continued to respond and even the score each time, getting a Luke Johnson layup as the half's final basket to knot it up. Johnson was one of three Vikings to post eight or more points in the frame, tallying nine.  Nate Ortiz scored 10 of his 21 points in the first half, while Matt Hanushewsky was a perfect 3-3 to start the game and had eight. 

North Central stormed out with a quick five-point advantage in the second half, but it did not get any larger than that the rest of the way as Augustana hung around and eventually took a lead themselves multiple times. The Vikings' largest cushion of the game came with just under nine minutes to go when Oritz connected on his third three to push the game to 55-51 in their favor. The Cardinals responded with an 8-2 run to turn things back in their direction. North Central never lost their advantage the rest of the way, but saw the margin shrink to one point three times in the final five minutes. Leading 70-68 with just over a minute remaining, the Cardinals knocked down a three, followed by a defensive stop, to hang on with a final score of 73-68.

"I am really proud of the effort and fight we showed tonight on the road against a good team," said head coach Tom Jessee following the game. "We didn't execute well enough down the stretch and will continue to learn from it and get better."

The 21 points for Ortiz is a career high as he finished 7-13 from the field on the night. Johnson and Hanushewsky both ended with 11 apiece, while Dan Carr added nine points and 14 rebounds. The Vikings cooled off a little shooting the ball in the second half, ending their night at 45.5 percent overall. 

With the loss, Augustana drop to 9-10 overall and 4-6 in the CCIW. The team is back in action on Saturday, January 29 when they host the Carroll Pioneers. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from inside the Carver Center.