ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team closed out their non-conference slate on Friday, falling on the road to the Illinois College Blueboys by a final score of 74-69.

The two teams played at an even pace for the first eight minutes of the opening half before the Vikings broke away with a 10-0 run to go up 22-13 at the 8:32 mark. The Augie defense held Illinois College (12-1) scoreless for over six minutes of play, forcing three turnovers during that span to help stretch their margin to its largest of the game at eight points. The Vikings hovered around the eight-point cushion for a remainder of the half before a late basket from the Blueboys brought them within five at half.

Illinois College finally evened things up early on in the second half, knotting the game at 33 with a 7-2 spurt to begin the frame. Through the first five minutes of action, the Blueboys outscored the Vikings 15-6 to bring the score to their largest lead of the contest at 41-37. Augustana flipped the scoreboard back in their favor at the halfway point on a Tyler Knuth three-pointer, making it 50-47.

The Vikings held onto a slim advantage throughout the next seven minutes, pushing it back to as many as six. The Blueboys reclaimed the lead in their favor with a layup at the 3:07 mark, but an and-one from Daniel Carr and made jumper from Matt Hawkins put the Vikings back in the driver's seat for the time being, leading 69-65 with 2:09 remaining. Augustana did not score the rest of the way and the home team took the lead two possessions later. The Vikings saw four shots at the basket with under a minute left to either tie or cut it to one, but failed to capitalize. The Blueboys knocked down two from the charity stripe with a second left to ice the game with a 74-69 final.

Both teams hovered around the 45 percent mark shooting the ball, with the Vikings holding a slight advantage from behind the arc. Illinois College boasted a plus-10 margin from the free-throw line, converting 75 percent of their attempts. Knuth led the Vikings in scoring, tallying 20 points off the bench on 50 percent shooting. Hawkins was the other member in double figures with 10. Carr hauled in 17 rebounds. 

With the loss, Augustana falls to 3-10 overall. The Vikings will face CCIW opponents the remainder of the season, beginning with a home bout against the North Central Cardinals on Wednesday, January 4. Start time is scheduled for 7 pm from inside the Carver Center.