WHEATON, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team will remain on the road for a mid-week battle with the Wheaton Thunder on Wednesday, January 15.

The Vikings sit at 8-6 on the season and 1-4 in CCIW action following an 87-73 road loss at North Park on Saturday. 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.

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.

Wheaton enters Wednesday with a 3-11 overall record and 0-5 mark in the CCIW. Despite being winless in conference play, the Thunder have seen three of their five losses come by six points or less, with two of those coming in the last two games at home. Recently, Wheaton fell on the road at Carroll by a score of 74-58. The team trailed by just six points at half, but got out-scored 35-25 in the final 20 minutes of action. The two teams shot relatively even from behind the three-point line, but Carroll knocked down 43 percent of its looks overall compared to Wheaton's 37.5 percent mark. The Pioneers also won the turnover battle and out-rebounded the Thunder, 40-34. Wheaton is 2-7 on its home court this season and is looking to snap an eight-game winning streak. The Thunder's last victory came back on November 23 at home over Olivet. Wednesday will also feature the CCIW's top-two leading scorers in Soren Richardson for Wheaton and Knuth for Augustana. Richardson, who scored 22 points against Carroll, is putting up 20.5 points per outing, while Knuth sits at 16.9.

Augustana leads the all-time series 79-71 over Wheaton. The two teams last season's meetings, each winning on its home floor.

Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m.