MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team was defeated in a non-conference battle on Saturday, falling to the North Central (Minn.) Rams on the road by a score of 69-62.

"We couldn't have played a better first 18 minutes of the game," said head coach Tom Jessee. "Unfortunately we could not sustain it. We've got to sat with the process and continue to keep getting better."

It was a tale of two halves for the Vikings, putting up 48 points in the opening 20 minutes on 58 percent shooting and 60 percent from behind the three-point line. Augie jumped out to a quick 12-4 lead through five minutes of action and never saw its cushion dip below four points. Around the halfway point of the first half, a Matt Hawkins three gave the Vikings their first double-digit lead of the game at 26-14. The margin hovered around the 10-point mark before another three from Hawkins with 2:37 remaining pushed the advantage to 17 at 44-27. North Central closed the half with a 9-4 scoring run to bring the score to 48-36 at the break.

The Rams slowly chipped away at the Vikings' lead, eventually getting within two possessions at 52-46 with 12:35 remaining. From there a defensive battle ensued until the two teams found each other in a deadlock at 56 points apiece with 6:36 to go. North Central grabbed its first lead since it was 1-0 moments later before a back-and-forth battle brought the game to another tie at 60-60. A three-pointer with under two minutes to play from the Rams put the home team out in front for good, using a 9-2 run to end the game.

Three Vikings cracked double figures in the loss, led by Hawkins with 13 points. Tyler Knuth and Chase Larsen added 11 and 10, respectively.

With the loss, Augustana drops to 1-3 on the season. The team will be back in action on Tuesday at No. 2 UW-Whitewater.