ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team will look to pick up its third straight win on Sunday, January 7 when they welcome the Illinois Wesleyan Titans to the Carver Center for a CCIW clash.

Augustana currently sits at 5-9 on the season and 2-3 in conference, recently earning a 67-64 home conference victory over the Wheaton Thunder on Wednesday. Augustana led for all but 27 seconds in the first, leading by as many as a 14. Wheaton slowly inched back over the course of the next four minutes, using a 10-0 scoring run to bring the margin within four. A last-second three-pointer by the Thunder cut the Augie lead in half heading into the break at a 33-30 score. Both teams shot identical through the first 20 minutes, each connecting on 44 percent from the field, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and a perfect effort at the free throw line. 

The Thunder grabbed their first lead since the opening minutes with a three-pointer five minutes into the second to bring the score to 39-37. From there, the two teams battled back-and-forth until a quick 6-0 spurt from the visitors moved a two-point lead to eight at the halfway point. Augustana's defense buckled down in response, holding Wheaton scoreless over the seven-and-a-half minutes to flip the lead in its favor. After evening the score at 51, the Vikings saw six points from Evan Ambrose over the span of three minutes to surge out in front by as many as eight with just over a minute remaining. Augie's scoring run reached 19-3 and lasted nearly nine minutes. The team hit five of six free throws in the final 60 seconds to hang on for the three-point victory. Three players hit double figures for Augustana, led by Tyler Knuth's 20 points on 6-10 shooting. Ambrose and Colton Gillingham contributed 13 and 10 points, while Chase Larsen narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and 10 boards. The Vikings closed out the win with an 18-19 effort from the charity stripe.

The Titans enter Sunday's showdown with an overall record of 7-6 and boast a 3-1 mark in CCIW play. Illinois Wesleyan will be back in action after over a full week off since its last contest, a 73-60 road loss at UW-Stevens Point on December 30. The defeat made it three losses in a row for the Titans, who also dropped a pair of contests in California right before the holiday break. Prior to that, Illinois Wesleyan enjoyed wins in five of its last six games, including three wins in a row over CCIW opponents. The Titans average just over 70 points per outing and are led by three double figure scorers. Both Nick Roper and Harrison Wilmsen are at 11.2 points per game this season, while Luke Yoder averages an even 10.

Sunday will be the 179th all-time meeting between the two programs, with Illinois Wesleyan holding a 99-79 advantage in the series. The two teams split last season's encounters, each winning on their own home court. Augie's 89-80 victory on January 28 snapped a four-game losing streak to the Titans.

Start time is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.