ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team will be back in action at home on Wednesday, February 7 when they host the North Central Cardinals in a CCIW clash.

Augustana currently sits at 7-15 on the season and 4-9 in the CCIW, recently picking up an 88-85 overtime win over the Carthage Firebirds on Saturday. 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. 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. 

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. 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.  Knuth finished with a team-best 26 points on 7-15 shooting, while Larsen added 21 points and seven boards.

North Central enters Wednesday sporting a 7-14 overall record and 5-7 mark in the CCIW. The Cardinals are currently enduring a three-game losing streak, recently falling to Elmhurst over the weekend by a score of 84-66. Nine different Cardinals scored in the lost, led by Sean Molloy's 18 points. North Central has two players averaging double figures this season, with Ethan Helwig atop the team at nearly 12 points per contest. The Cardinals are 4-6 on the road this season, with three of those four wins coming in league action. 

Wednesday will be the 181st meeting all-time between the two programs, with Augie holding a 108-72 advantage in the series. North Central won the earlier-season CCIW-opening matchup in Naperville by a score of 61-59. Knuth led all scorers with 16.

Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m.