CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team will head back on the road on Saturday, February 5 when they travel to Chicago to take on the North Park Vikings.
The Vikings were defeated in their last outing on Wednesday, falling 74-63 to the No. 15 ranked Wheaton Thunder. Augie held a two-point advantage at the break in that one despite an above-50 percent shooting effort from Wheaton in the first half, both overall and from three-point range. Both teams cooled off in the second half, but it was the Thunder who broke out of a late tie, closing the game on an 18-7 run to pick up the win and avenge the earlier-season loss at home. Four Vikings cracked double figures in the contest, led by
Luke Johnson with 13 points on 5-7 shooting.
Dan Carr ended up with 12 points and eight rebounds, while
Matt Hawkins and
Colton Gillingham each added 10 points apiece.
North Park enters Saturday's meeting on a bit of a downward spiral after their fast start to conference play. The Vikings sit at 8-10 overall on the season and 3-7 in the CCIW. North Park has dropped seven straight league games following a 3-0 record to begin, at one point remaining as the last unbeaten team in conference. Their last CCIW victory came back on December 19 against Augustana in Rock Island when they scored the game's final 14 points to squeak out a 60-58 win. Their most recent outing on January 31 resulted in a 90-59 road defeat at North Central.
Despite their loss to North Park earlier this year, Augustana has dominated the recent history between the two teams, winning nine of the last ten matchups. Since 2016, the Vikings have posted a 5-1 record on the road against their Viking counterpart. Augie leads the all-time series 85-41.
Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. North Park is currently allowing spectators who show proof of full vaccination or negative COVID-19 test within the 48 hours prior to the event. More info on their policy can be found
here.
Game coverage at North Park
Follow @augieathletics on Twitter for in-game updates
