NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team dropped a close battle to the North Central Cardinals on Saturday, falling by a score of 76-69.

It was a back and forth opening first half, with Augie holding a slight one point advantage of 37-36 after 20 minutes of action. Neither team saw a lead of more than four points as the two teams exchanged the lead 17 times. The Vikings saw their first lead come around the 13-minute mark after a Staishaun Kelley three-pointer put the team up 13-12. Matt Hawkins drilled a three-pointer three minutes later to make it a two-point advantage at 19-17 before closing out the half with a Tyler Knuth bucket with eight seconds left. Both teams shot a similar mark from the field in the first half, with North Central hitting 48 percent to Augustana's 47. The Cardinals held the advantage at the free throw line in the first half, hitting all seven attempts.

Augie claimed the largest lead of the game for either team following a Knuth three with 17 minutes to go to put the score at 43-48. From there, the Cardinals charged back with a 6-0 run to reclaim the advantage. North Central saw its margin extend out to four after that until the Vikings earned the lead back with under 10 to go. Neither team saw a differential of more than three points until the final minute, with Augie holding a slim advantage of 69-68 after four straight made free throws by Chase Larsen at 1:24. The Cardinals did not make a shot in the four minutes of the game, but saw their 10 final points come from the charity stripe. After taking the lead on a pair of free throws at 70-69, North Central hit six in a row from there while holding Augie scoreless to seal the seven-point win.

Knuth led Vikings with 22 points, while Kelley, Larsen, and Evan Ambrose all added 10. 

With the loss, Augustana drops to 5-2 on the year and 1-1 in the CCIW. The team will be back in action next Saturday at home vs. Carthage.