ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team earned a home win on Saturday, defeating the visiting Carthage Firebirds in overtime by a score of 88-85. 

The first 10 minutes of the contest was as back and forth as it could be, with neither team holding a lead of more than a possession up until a 17-17 tie. Carthage ended the trend, scoring the next four points for the largest lead of the game, but Augie stormed back to tie and then own its largest margin at a score of 30-25 with just under four minutes remaining in the half. In a fast-paced closing to the opening frame, the Vikings never lost the lead despite the Firebirds pulling within one at 34-33. Six straight points from Mike Hamilton to close out the half helped move the Vikings' margin back out to five and a score of 40-35 at the break. Each team made 14 field goals through the first 20 minutes, but Augie held a 46 percent showing from the field to the Firebirds' 41 percent mark. The Vikings connected one more three than their opponent and were a perfect 7-7 in the half.

After five minutes of play to begin the second, the Vikings enjoyed their largest lead of the game of nine points before later moving it out to double figures with 13 minutes remaining. From there, Carthage inched closer, using an 8-0 run over the course of three minutes to pull within two. Augustana never saw its lead vanish until the five-minute mark when the Firebirds evened the score at 69 points apiece, but the Vikings quickly jumped back out in front on a pair of free throws from Anthony Cooper. After another tie at 73, the visitors snagged their first advantage of the second half with a made three-pointer. Chase Larsen answered with a three of his own before the two teams exchanged a pair of successful trips to bring the game to 79-all. A last second three from Tyler Knuth went in-and-out to send the game to overtime.

Playing in their second straight overtime battle, the Vikings scored the first five points of the extra session on two made free throws from Knuth and a three by Larsen. Carthage pulled to within a point on its next two possessions and held Augie scoreless for a total of 3:08 down the stretch. Leading by a point during that span, the Vikings came up with three defensive stops in a row before Matt Hawkins cashed in two shots at the line. A missed three and offensive put back moved Carthage closer, but another successful trip to the line from Knuth and a stop on defense sealed the three-point victory for the Vikings. 

As a team, the Vikings hit 44 percent of their looks for the game compared to the Firebirds' 49 percent effort, but made the most of their opportunities at the charity stripe hitting 21-23 attempts. Knuth finished with a team-best 26 points on 7-15 shooting, while Larsen added 21 points and seven boards. Hawkins and Hamilton also cracked double figures, finishing with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

With the win, Augustana improves to 7-15 on the season and 4-9 in the CCIW. The team will remain at home for the next game on Wednesday, February 7 when they host North Central.