WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. –Augustana will take a 10-1 record into CCIW play after a workmanlike 63-41 win over Wisconsin-Oshkosh at the JustAgame Fieldhouse Sunday. The 13th-ranked Vikings opened the second half with an 18-4 run which broke the contest open. Augustana's ninth straight victory snapped a three-game Titan winning streak as UWO fell to 4-7 on the season.
 
Oshkosh led for most of the first half, jumping in front 5-0 on a Jade Royston bucket and a Dylan Wurtz three-pointer. The Vikings tied it four different times, but it wasn't until a Ben Ryan (Washington HS, Washington, Ill.) basket at the 8:00 mark of the first half that the designated home team had its first lead of the game at 19-17.
 
Ryan's layup turned out to be the second of six straight Augustana field goals by six different players as the Vikings went from down 17-15 to up 27-17 with a minute and a half left in the period. Kyle Bolger's old-fashioned three-point play got UWO to within 27-20 at intermission.
 
Sophomores Tayvian Johnson (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) and Jawan Straughter (Plainfield East HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.) each scored five points in Augustana's 18-4 run to start the second half. Johnson scored the first two buckets of the period and his free throw with 11:13 remaining finished the spree, resulting in a 45-24 advantage.  During the stretch, Straughter hit a three-pointer and then took a defensive rebound coast-to-coast for a layup on the next possession. Junior Mark Roth (Washington HS, Metamora, Ill.) also buried a three as, again, six different Vikings scored during the run. Combined with the strong first-half finish, Augustana outscored the Titans 30-7 over an 18-minute stretch.
 
The lead bounced between 16 and 23 points the rest of the way, allowing Coach Grey Giovanine to play his entire bench.
 
For the first time in eight games, Augustana shot less than 50 percent from the floor, connecting on 27 of 59 for a .458 mark. The Blue and Gold hit five of 15 (.333) attempts from beyond the arc, but four of seven in the second half. The Viking defense stifled UWO, holding the Titans to just 14 field goals in 49 attempts (.286) and just five of 20 (.250) from long range. Augustana had a 39-34 edge on the glass and turned the ball over just 11 times.
 
Individually, Johnson was the only Viking in double figures, finishing with 11 points, but he got plenty of help in another balanced Augustana effort. Guards Hunter Hill (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.) and Danielius Jurgutis (Downers Grove South HS, Darien, Ill.) scored nine each and centers Kevin Schlitter (Maine South HS, Park Ridge, Ill.) and Nic Hoepfner (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) had eight apiece. Straughter scored seven without missing a shot. Ryan scored half a dozen and added game highs of five assists and six rebounds, sharing game-high honors on the boards with Schlitter and Hoepfner.
 
The Vikings open CCIW play on Saturday, January 4, 2014, when Carthage (7-4) visits Carver Center for a 7:00 p.m. tip.