ROCK ISLAND -- For the third time in as many tries this season, the Augustana Vikings men's basketball team came out on top in an overtime game, defeating the visiting North Central Cardinals on Saturday by a score of 80-76.

The visitors got off to a fast start, pulling away from an 8-8 tie with an 11-2 scoring run. Trailing 19-10 around the 12-minute mark, the Vikings began to chip away at the deficit and got within three at 19-16 over the span of the next two minutes. North Central remained out in front and grew its margin back out to nine points at 27-18 and again at 35-26, but Augie closed out the final five minutes on a 10-2 run. The Vikings held the Cardinals scoreless for over four-and-a-half minutes until a last-second jumper put the visitors on top 37-36 at the halftime break. Augustana offset a 52 percent shooting effort from North Central through the first 20 minutes with a 48 percent mark from the floor. Nine different Vikings scored in the first half, with Ray Maurchie leading the way with nine points.

In the second, Tyler Knuth kicked off the scoring with his first three-pointer of the game to move the Vikings back in front. Staishaun Kelley added on with five straight points to bring the team's scoring run to 8-0 through the first two-plus minutes and Augie remained ahead by multiple possessions up until a basket by the Cardinals cut it to three with 13 minutes remaining. Despite seeing North Central get within a point on multiple occasions, the Vikings never lost the lead until the final minute. With Augie leading 69-64 with 51 seconds to play, the Cardinals knocked down a pair of free throws and used a defensive stop to get the ball back with 10 seconds to play. North Central's Ethan Helwig knocked down a triple with just under five seconds remaining, and a steal and look at the basket from the Cardinals came up short to force overtime.

In the extra session, Evan Ambrose connected on a driving layup to give the Vikings the early lead. The team never trailed the rest of the way, building a lead of as many as six around the one-minute mark thanks to a bucket by Colton Gillingham. A basket in the paint by the Cardinals cut the lead to 78-76 with 19 seconds showing on the clock, but Knuth sealed the win with a successful trip to the charity stripe and a shot on the final possession for the visitors fell short.

Both teams shot an identical 43.1 percent from the field in the game, with Augie hitting 35 percent of its looks from deep compared to North Central's 41 percent effort. Four players scored in double figures for the Vikings, led by Knuth with 18 points and Kelley with 16. Ambrose and Maurchie each added 11 and 10, with Ambrose also swiping four steals.

With the win, Augustana improves to 12-8 overall and 5-6 in the CCIW. The team will be back in action next Saturday at Millikin.