CHICAGO, Ill. -- Luke Johnson scored a career-high 28 points on Saturday as the Augustana Vikings men's basketball team defeated the North Park Vikings on the road by a score of 91-60 to avenge an earlier-season loss. 

Augustana trailed just once in the game, flipping an early 9-8 deficit with a 7-0 run to take control in the first half. The Vikings held a multi-possession advantage for the remainder of the opening frame, eventually pushing it to double figures for the first time on a Johnson jumper in the final seconds of the half. Augie went into intermission with a 37-26 lead after shooting 53 percent overall and an even 50 percent from three-point range.

A quick 8-2 run from North Park within the first three minutes of the second half cut the differential to just five points, but that would be as close as the game would be the rest of the way as Augustana responded with a 13-1 run over the span of the next four minutes to cushion themselves from the home team. At the 9:30 mark, the Vikings saw their lead hit the 20-point mark for the first time and went on to hold a 20-plus advantage for the final six minutes of the contest. Eight straight points from Anthony Cooper in the final minute allowed Augie to end the game with their largest margin of 31 points. 

Augustana followed up their hot-shooting first half with a near identical effort in the second to conclude the game with an above-50 percent mark both overall and from behind the arc. The Vikings also doubled up North Park in bench points at 30-15 and held a plus-15 advantage in the rebounding category. Johnson's four threes tied a season-high, which also came against North Park earlier this season, and finished 10-13 from the floor. He added seven rebounds and four steals. Also in double figures was Dan Carr, who scored 11 of his 16 in the second half. He secured 18 rebounds in the contest for the third time in the last five games. 

"We had a terrific all-around game tonight," said head coach Tom Jessee. "Our defense was excellent, we controlled the glass, and executed really well on the offensive end."

With the win, Augustana improves to 10-12 overall and 5-8 in the CCIW. More importantly, the Vikings now sit in sixth place alone in the league, which currently puts them in line for a conference tournament berth. The team will be back in action on Wednesday, February 9 when they take on No. 21 Elmhurst on the road. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from Elmhurst, Ill.