Box Score
ELMHURST, Ill. – Elmhurst knocked Augustana out of a share of the CCIW lead Saturday – but only temporarily – defeating the 13th-ranked Vikings 83-74 at Faganel Hall. The loss dropped Augustana to 15-3 overall and 5-2 in the CCIW, while the Bluejays improved to 12-6 overall and 4-3 in the conference. Carthage defeated Illinois Wesleyan 80-73 later in the evening to create a four-way tie for the league lead.
 
Junior Nic Hoepfner (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) scored Augustana's first six points and gave the Vikings their only two leads of the night at 2-0 and 4-2. However, from the 17:30 mark of the first half when Taylor Baxter gave Elmhurst a 5-4 lead with a three-pointer, it was all Bluejays.
 
A Ken Payonk trey with 12:55 left in the first half gave the hosts a double-digit lead for the first time at 17-7. Sophomore Hunter Hill (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.) hit a pair of three-pointers as Augustana got within 19-17 at the 8:32 mark, but Pat Coleman and Kyle Wuest each hit from long range as the Bluejays went on an 8-0 run to go back up by ten. Baxter's bucket with 39 seconds left gave Elmhurst a 36-23 lead at the break.
 
Wuest opened the second half with another trey and when Will Nixon scored with 16:25 remaining, the lead reached 46-25. Two Nick Sanford free throws at the 15:49 mark gave the Bluejays their biggest lead of the night at 48-26.
 
Hill attempted to lead an Augustana comeback, scoring 15 of 27 Viking points in a span of 7:06. His three-pointer with 3:29 left cut the margin to 71-60 and he hit two free throws with 2:46 remaining to get it under double digits for the first time since late in the first half.  However, Wuest answered with a jumper to put Elmhurst ahead 73-62 and the Bluejays hit enough free throws down the stretch to keep the Vikings from seriously threatening.
 
Hill finished with 24 points, including 18 in the second half. He hit five of seven from beyond the arc, but the rest of the team was zero for 10 from long range. Hoepfner scored 15 points on seven-of-11 shooting from the field and had game highs of nine rebounds and three steals. A 42-29 Viking advantage on the boards and a 29-of-36 (.806) effort from the free throw line weren't enough to overcome a .577-to-.308 Elmhurst edge in field goal shooting. The hosts were also a red-hot nine of 17 (.529) from three-point range. Coleman finished with 21 to lead four Bluejays in double figures.
 
Coach Grey Giovanine's club begins the second half of the CCIW schedule on Wednesday, January 29 at Carver Center. North Central will be the opponent with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m.