ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team dropped a close battle to the Crown Polars on Friday, falling by a score of 64-61.

The home team got out to a fast start in this one, doubling up the Vikings 10-5 through the first five minutes of action. From there, Augie played catch-up the rest of the half, erasing four different double-digit deficits to eventually pull within a point at 24-23. The Vikings remained within striking distance, but could not flip the lead in their favor as the Polars used a late scoring spurt to push its halftime lead out to seven at 37-30. Augie shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and held Crown to just 38 percent shooting, but three additional makes from behind the three-point line and an 8-0 advantage at the free-throw line allowed the Polars to hold on to the lead at the break.

Augie slowly chipped away at the deficit to begin the second half and eventually took its first lead on a Colton Gillingham jumper three minutes in. The two teams continued to battle back and forth, with neither holding a lead of more than two possessions the rest of the way. Crown claimed the lead back shortly after and pushed the margin out to five with 8:33 remaining, the largest differential by any team in the second half. The Vikings never went away, pulling within a single point three separate times, with the latest coming on a made free throw from Gillingham with 59 seconds remaining. The Polars scored on a backdoor layup the ensuing possession to extend the lead out to three and held off a game-tying attempt from the Vikings to all but seal the game. Two made free throws made it a five-point game, with a last second layup from Gillingham bringing the score to its 64-61 final.

"I am so proud of the way we fought tonight," said head coach Tom Jessee. "We beat them in every category outside of the three-point and free-throw line."

Gillingham was one of two Vikings to reach double figures, finishing with 14 points on 6-9 shooting. Mike Hamilton contributed 10 points to go with five rebounds. A total of 10 players tallied points as the team finished with a 53 percent mark from the field.

With the loss, Augustana drops to 1-2. The team will be back in action tomorrow at North Central (Minn.)