Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Number one-ranked Augustana jumped out to a 51-25 halftime lead and cruised to an 86-61 win over Knox Saturday at Carver Center. Junior Hunter Hill (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.) led the way with 19 points, while seniors Nic Hoepfner (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) and Danielius Jurgutis (Downers Grove South HS, Darien, Ill.) added 17 and 14, respectively. The Vikings improved to 5-0 on the season, while the Prairie Fire fell to 1-4.
 
Hoepfner (three) and Jurgutis (two) accounted for Augustana's first five field goals in the opening three and a half minutes, with Hill recording assists on four of the five. Back-to-back threes by Hill and junior Griffin Pils (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) gave Augustana a 16-8 lead before Knox's Mike Martin answered with a jumper to make it 16-10 at the 15:05 mark of the first half.
 
Jurgutis broke a two-minute scoreless drought for both teams with a pair of free throws, sparking a 14-0 Viking run that put the hosts up 30-10 at the 8:45 mark. Six different Augustana players scored during the spurt. A Hoepfner put-back pushed the lead to its biggest of the half at 51-23 before Knox's Deandre Weathersby scored the final bucket before halftime.
 
Hill scored 10 of the Vikings' first 11 points of the second half, with his jumper from just inside the arc at the 17:10 mark giving his team its biggest lead of the night at 62-30.
 
Coach Grey Giovanine went deep into his bench down the stretch. All 15 players dressed saw at least three minutes of action.
 
Hoepfner had a game-high nine rebounds and was a perfect eight for eight from the floor. Hill added five assists, sharing game-high honors with classmate Ben Ryan (Washington HS, Washington, Ill.). Junior Brandon Motzel (Carmel HS, Buffalo Grove, Ill.) had nine points and five rebounds, while junior Tayvian Johnson (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) had eight points and five boards. Senior Mark Roth (Washington HS, Metamora, Ill.) also scored eight.
 
Augustana finished the night 34 of 57 (.596) from the floor, six of 15 (.400) from beyond the arc and 12 of 20 (.600) from the free throw line. The Prairie Fire shot .382 from the field and .409 from long range, but those numbers were .500 and .467, respectively, after halftime. The Vikings held a 36-27 advantage on the boards and committed just 11 turnovers, while forcing 19.
 
Next up for the nation's top-ranked team is a trip to Pella, Iowa on Wednesday, December 3 to face defending Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Central. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.