PLATTEVILLE, Wis. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team will face another road test on Tuesday, November 26 when they head to Wisconsin to take on the No. 6 ranked UW-Platteville Pioneers.

Augie is 3-0 on the season and receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com poll, recently picking up an overtime win over DePauw last Wednesday in overtime. The two teams went back-and-forth to begin the game before the Vikings grabbed the largest lead of the contest at 30-23. The Tigers closed out the first half on a 7-0 run to even things up after 20 minutes of action. 

Augustana and DePauw traded baskets to begin the second half, but this time it was the Tigers who jumped out in front and held on to a one-possession lead over the course of the next three minutes. After notching their largest of the game at 43-38, the Tigers' advantage grew to six with nine minutes to play, but a 9-4 scoring spurt by Augie evened the score back up at 55 apiece. Moments later, Chase Larsen connected on a layup in the paint to give the Vikings their first lead since the 19:44 mark. After finding themselves in another tie at 64-64, the Tigers grabbed the lead late with a a basket with just nine seconds remaining. Augustana answered with points of its own, setting up the made dunk by Mike Hamilton on a pass by Evan Ambrose with just seconds to spare. A last-second layup attempt by DePauw was off the mark as the two teams entered the extra frame tied at 66.

It was all Vikings in the overtime session, beginning with five of the first six points scored in the period by Tyler Knuth to bring the score to 72-67. The onslaught continued as an Ambrose three gave Augie its largest lead of the game, followed by a jumper from Larsen to push it out to double figures. The differential dipped below 10 just once the rest of the way, but a pair of free throws for the Vikings sealed the double digit win. Augie shot 39 percent from the field in the win after hitting 40 percent of its looks in the second and four of five shots in overtime. Knuth led all scorers with 23 points, while Ambrose followed with 17 and Larsen with 15. Staishaun Kelley also ended with double-digit points with 14, also adding six rebounds and five steals. 

UW-Platteville is 3-1 on the year and will face its fourth CCIW opponent in a row on Tuesday against Augie. The Pioneers are ranked sixth in the nation, with the lone loss coming on the road at Illinois Wesleyan by a score of 86-66. Platteville recently fended off North Central on Saturday in overtime by a final of 76-69 to improve to 2-0 on its home court. The Pioneers trailed by six at the break, but held the Cardinals to just 24 points in the second half to help force overtime. A 16-point extra session for the home team fueled them to the seven-point triumph. Returning All-American Logan Pearson scored 24 points in the win and leads the team with 25.8 points per contest this season. UW-Platteville posted a 26-5 overall record in 2023-24 and was 15-1 at home. The team fell in the sectional final of the NCAA Tournament to eventual national champion Trine by a score of 88-86.

Tuesday will be the 10th meeting all-time between the two programs, with Augustana holding a 5-4 lead in the series. The Pioneers defeated the Vikings in their last meeting in Rock Island two seasons ago by a score of 81-73.

Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m.