CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team dropped a CCIW contest to the North Park Vikings on Saturday, falling by a score of 87-73.

North Park snagged the first lead of the game on the opening possession, but Augie quickly jumped out in front following a four-point play by Tyler Knuth. The two teams played a back-and-forth battle for the next few minutes until the home team secured the game's first multi-possession lead at 11-7. Augustana managed to get within two on two different occasions, but North Park countered with a seven-point advantage around the halfway point. A layup from Chase Larsen later moved the game back within one possession, but that was as close as the Vikings got the rest of the way as a 16-9 scoring surge to close the half gave the home team a 41-31 lead at the halftime break. North Park shot 53 percent in the opening 20 minutes compared to Augustana's 44 percent clip.

A jumper by Evan Ambrose brought deficit under double figures early in the second, but another scoring run from North Park moved the cushion out to as many as 21 just five minutes in. The Vikings did not go down without a fight, stringing together a 9-1 run late in the game to get within 13, but ran out of time as the home team Vikings claimed the 14-point victory.

Knuth led all scorers with 25 points on 9-20 shooting, while Staishaun Kelley added 11 points and five rebounds. Ambrose also collected 11 points to go with two steals. As a team, the Vikings swiped 17 steals, tied for a season high, and forced 23 North Park turnovers.

With the loss, Augie drops to 8-6 overall and 1-4 in the CCIW. The team will remain on the road to battle Wheaton on Wednesday.