ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team will resume conference play for the first time in over two weeks on Wednesday when they play host to the visiting North Central Cardinals.

Augie enters with a 3-10 overall record and 1-3 mark in the CCIW. The team recently fell to the Illinois College Blueboys by a score of 74-69 last Friday. The Vikings held a five-point lead over the Blueboys (12-1) and withstood an early charge from the home team in the second half. Augustana put together a late run and led 69-65 with 2:09 remaining, but Illinois College closed the game with nine unanswered to steal the victory. 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. Tyler Knuth led the Vikings in scoring, tallying 20 points off the bench on 50 percent shooting. Matt Hawkins was the other member in double figures with 10. Daniel Carr hauled in 17 rebounds. 

North Central enters Wednesday with a 7-5 overall record and 2-2 mark in conference. The Cardinals are winners of their last three games after enduring a three-game losing skid prior. North Central defeated Elmhurst by a score of 78-71 in their last CCIW outing on December 17 before picking up a pair of wins against non-conference opponents Hope and Edgewood. Senior guard Matt Helwig is coming off of a CCIW Student-Athlete of the Week honor and is leading the conference in scoring at 21.8 points per game. The Vikings and Cardinals have four common opponents in the non-conference slate this season, with North Central picking up wins over UW-Whitewater and Dubuque and falling to UW-Platteville and Aurora.

Wednesday will be the 178th meeting all-time, with Augustana leading the series 107-70. The Cardinals won both encounters last season by a combined nine points.

Start time is scheduled for 7 pm from inside the Carver Center.