ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team picked up a home win over the visiting North Park Vikings on Wednesday, winning by a score of 78-70.

A pair of driving layups by Evan Ambrose and Dani Romero kicked off the scoring to give the Vikings the early advantage. The lead reach five within the first five minutes before eight straight points from the visitors gave them their first and only lead of the game. A quick 6-0 run by Augie followed, with all three made baskets coming in the paint, and the Vikings continued to use hot shooting to pull away through the first 20 minutes of action. After North Park got back within two with around six minutes left to play, Augustana answered with a 13-2 scoring outburst to make it a 36-23 game. Five different players accounted for all five of the makes during the run, which included a trio of three-pointers from Matt Hawkins, Anthony Cooper, and Tyler Knuth. The visiting Vikings came out of a timeout to inch back within five at 38-33, but five straight points to close things out gave Augie a double-digit lead at the halftime break. A total of nine Vikings found the scoring column in the first half, with Knuth notching 13 of his 19 for the game during that time. Augie hit 58 percent of its looks and was 6-9 from behind the three-point line. 

Augie held its double-digit differential for the first nine minutes of the second half, seeing it grow to as many as 14. North Park got it under 10 around the halfway point, but the margin hung around double figures for the next few possessions. With five minutes remaining, the visitors got the score within one possession for the first time all second half and eventually pulled even with Augie at a score of 60-60. After trading baskets to make it 62-62, Romero and Ambrose each connected on another pair of consecutive driving layups to give the Vikings some separation. Following a defensive stop, an Ambrose three-pointer moved the difference back out to seven. The team hit seven free throws in the final three minutes of the game and held North Park to just three made field goals since the score was 62-62 to cap off a 16-8 run and close out the 78-70 win.

As a team, the Vikings knocked down 48 percent of their shots and hit 38 percent from deep, holding their counterpart to just 42 percent overall and 29 percent from three. Ambrose led all scorers in the win with 20 points, followed closely behind by Knuth's 19. Romero secured a double-double in his first start of the season, finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists.

With the win, Augustana improves to 11-8 on the season and 4-6 in the CCIW. The team will remain home on Saturday to host North Central.