KENOSHA, Wis. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team was defeated on the road on Saturday, falling to the Carthage Firebirds by a final score of 85-79.

"We were short-handed today and collectively played with great energy and fight," said head coach Tom Jessee. "In order to win on the road in the CCIW you have to execute down the stretch and we just did not get that done."

It was a back-and-forth start to the game, with neither team holding a lead of more than two possessions until the Vikings saw consecutive made threes from Chase Larsen and Nicolas Giliberto to bring the score to 19-12 in their favor. Augustana held its advantage for a good portion of the remainder of the first half, growing the deficit to as many as eight before Carthage used a late push to even the score at 32 with a minute to go. The Firebirds grabbed two separate leads down the stretch, but a buzzer-beating layup from Dani Romero put the Vikings up 36-35 at the break.

The second half began like the first, with the teams trading baskets and staying within two possessions of one another. Carthage secured the half's first scoring run, stretching a lead out to six at 48-42 before the Vikings answered with one of their own to tie the game back up at 52 points apiece. Each squad held leads of up to five points the rest of the way, but continued to play into a deadlock and found themselves tied once again at 69-69 with just over three minutes remaining. The Firebirds broke away from the tie, scoring five straight points before eventually icing the game away with six straight made free throws in the final minute.

Both teams shot well on the afternoon, with Augie posting a 53 percent shooting effort to Carthage's 49 percent mark. The Firebirds outscored the Vikings at the free throw line, making 24-29 attempts, while Augie hit just 9-11. Three Vikings hit double figures in scoring, led by Tyler Knuth with 20 points. Andrew Ayeni added 12 and Colton Gillingham contributed 10 as well.

With the loss, Augustana drops to 1-7 on the season and 0-2 in CCIW play. The team will be back in action on Wednesday, December 6 when they visit Millikin in Decatur, Ill.