PLATTEVILLE, Wis. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team dropped its first game of the season on Tuesday, falling at the No. 6 ranked UW-Platteville Pioneers by a score of 77-50.

Evan Ambrose kicked off the game with the first bucket a minute in as the two teams exchanged the lead back and forth three times through the first seven minutes of action. Tied at 9-9, the Pioneers used a 5-0 run to jump out and front and eventually extended the difference to double figures around the five-minute mark. The momentum continued for the home team, seeing the margin grow to as many as 18 before a Tyler Knuth basket with 24 seconds cut it to 16. The Pioneers led 38-22 at the break after shooting 42 percent from both the field and behind the three-point line in the half. Augie hit just 33 percent of its looks and was 2-9 from three.

Platteville pulled away early in the second, reaching a 20-point lead just two minutes into the second frame. The Vikings did not get the differential under 20 the rest of the way and the Pioneers closed it out with a 77-50 final. Augustana shot slightly better in the second half at a 39 percent clip, but knocked down just one three in 10 attempts. The Pioneers improved on their first-half shooting with a 48 percent effort in the second.

Knuth and Staishaun Kelley were the top scorers for the Vikings with 10 points apiece. Colton Gillingham grabbed five rebounds and added two blocked shots.

With the loss, Augustana drops to 3-1 on the year. The team will return home on Saturday to host Hamline.