ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team dropped a non-conference contest on Saturday, falling to the visiting Aurora Spartans at home by a final of 81-76.

Augie held the game's largest lead in the first half at six, but the opening 20 minutes saw a lot of back-and-forth play that resulted in the Spartans holding a one-point advantage at 37-36 heading into halftime. The Vikings went the first half without making a three, withstanding four from the visitors. Matt Hawkins tallied 10 of his 12 points in the first half on 5-7 shooting.

Neither team could eclipse a lead of four throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half until the Vikings pushed their margin to five and then seven at the 7:27 mark. From there, the Spartans strung together eight unanswered points over a three-minute span to take the lead at 66-65. After a couple of alternating baskets, the Spartans broke away from a 69-69 tie with a made three, proceeding to one more with 51 seconds remaining to pull away from a 74-72 and stretch it to two possessions. The five-point margin held firm as the visitors escaped with the 81-76 victory.

Three Vikings finished in double figures in a balanced scoring effort on offense, led by Daniel Carr with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Tyler Knuth added 16 points. As a team, Augustana ended their night with a 39 percent mark from the field, while Aurora shot 47 percent. The Spartans had 11 made threes to the Vikings' six.

With the loss, Augie drops to 1-2 on the season. The team will remain home for their next contest on Tuesday, November 22 when they host the UW-Platteville Pioneers. Start time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from inside the Carver Center.