CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team fell in a conference battle on Saturday, defeated on the road by the North Park Vikings by a score of 70-59.

The two Vikings teams played to close and relatively even first half, with the home team taking a one-point lead into the break after playing catch-up. Augustana held several four-point advantages throughout the first half, with their latest coming at 23-19 before NPU rattle off eight straight points near the end of the frame. A late three from Tyler Knuth with 10 seconds remaining brought the score to 27-26 after 20 minutes of play.

Six straight points from Augie to begin the second half gave them their largest lead of the game of five. North Park chipped away and regained a one-point margin in their favor at the 15:22 mark. Despite failing to claim the lead back, Augustana hung around, maintaining striking distance for quite some time. With less than 10 minutes to go, the home team Vikings cushioned themselves away from a 48-47 score, notching nine of the next 11 points scored. Augie got within four once more, but the North Park lead quickly jumped out to double figures as they held on for the 11-point win.

Daniel Carr had a successful night in multiple categories, scoring 25 points to go with 17 rebounds and three blocks. He also added three assists and shot 8-9 from the free-throw line. Matt Hawkins added nine points on 4-7 shooting. Augie out-shot North Park both from behind the three-point line and the field overall, but suffered a -14 margin in turnovers. Augustana also out-rebounded NPU, 39-33.

With the loss, the Vikings drop to 2-7 overall and 1-2 in the CCIW. The team will be back in action on Saturday, December when they visit the Carthage Firebirds. Start time is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. from Kenosha, Wis.