WHEATON, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team dropped their conference opener on Wednesday, falling to the No. 21 ranked Wheaton Thunder by a score of 75-61.

The two teams played to a near-even opening half, with the Thunder taking a one-point advantage of 31-30 into the break. Wheaton led by as many as 13 early on at 18-5, but the Vikings chipped away at the deficit and cut it to one on multiple instances in the final three minutes. 

Augie grabbed their first lead of the game with a Colton Gillingham jumper to begin the second half. The Vikings held an advantage through the first two minutes, stretching it to two points during that span. A three-pointer at the 17:20 mark for Wheaton put the home team out in front for good as they slowly stretched the margin to double digits at the halfway point of the second half. The Vikings got it under 10 shortly after, but the the Thunder continued to cushion themselves and eventually claimed the 14-point win.

The Vikings saw a balanced effort on offense in the game as nine different players tallied at least two points. Daniel Carr led the way with a team-high 17 points to go with nine rebounds, while Matt Hawkins tied a career high with 16 points on 7-8 shooting in just 18 minutes of action. Matt Hanushewsky added nine points and four assists.

As a team, Augustana shot 44 percent overall and 36 percent from behind the three-point line. Wheaton finished above 50 percent in both categories, which included 10 makes from downtown.

With the loss, Augie drops to 1-5 on the season and 0-1 in the CCIW. The team will be back in action on Saturday, December 3 when they return home to face the Millikin Big Blue. Start time is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. from the Carver Center.