ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team was defeated in their season-opening game on Tuesday, falling to the visiting UW-Whitewater Warhawks by a final score of 95-90 from inside the Carver Center.
Augie grabbed an early lead, pushing their margin up to seven at 12-5 before enduring a 13-3 run from Whitewater. The two teams alternated baskets before the Vikings reclaimed the lead, stretching it to four on four separate occasions. The Warhawks, who entered their first game of the season receiving votes in the D3hoops.com preseason poll, tallied five of the final six points score in the half to make it a 42-42 game after 20 minutes of action.
Daniel Carr earned a double-double in just the first half, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds throughout the opening frame.
For the first six minutes of the second half, neither team held an advantage of more than one possession. After each team saw the lead, Whitewater broke away from a 55-55 deadlock and never trailed the rest of the way, cushioning their margin to as many as nine with six minutes remaining in the game. The Vikings stormed back, cutting it to one at 78-77 thanks to two threes from Carr and jumpers from both
Matt Hawkins and
Chase Larsen to close out a 7-0 run. The Warhawks answered, pushing their advantage back out to multiple possessions and seeing a high percentage at the free throw line down the stretch to prevent the Vikings from catching up. A late steal and made three from
Colton Gillingham trimmed the deficit to three with just a second left, but the visitors sealed it with two final free throws, ending their night 28-36 from the line.
Carr continued his momentum from the first half to finish with a career-best 32 points to go with his 16 boards. He knocked down 11 of his 16 shot attempts and connected on five three-pointers.
Matt Hanushewsky also cracked double figures, securing 10 points and six assists.
Evan Ambrose added seven points and four assists in his first game as a Viking off of the bench.
The loss drops Augustana to 0-1 on the season. The team will be back in action on Saturday, November 12 when they hit the road to take on St. Mary's (Minn.). Start time is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. from Winona, Minn.
