The 2013-14 Augustana men's basketball season opened with an exhibition game at the University of Iowa and concluded with the program's 13th NCAA Division III tournament appearance. Along the way, Coach Grey Giovanine's team posted a 20-8 overall record and a 9-5 mark in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. A sophomore-dominated Viking team tied for third in the league and qualified for the conference tournament for the ninth consecutive season. Augustana defeated 18th-ranked St. Thomas in its NCAA tournament opener before falling to eventual national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater on the Warhawks' home court in the second round.
 
The Vikings battled an Iowa club that went on to reach the 20-win plateau and the NCAA tournament, eventually falling 87-65. Junior guard Danielius Jurgutis (Downers Grove South HS, Darien, Ill.) had a team-high 15 points and sophomore forward Ben Ryan (Washington HS, Washington, Ill.) posted game highs of 13 rebounds and four steals.
 
The regular season opened with an impressive 76-56 win over the University of Chicago at Carver Center. Ryan (15 points and 11 rebounds) and senior center Kevin Schlitter (Maine South HS, Park Ridge, Ill.) (17 & 11) each posted a double-double.
 
After suffering a 67-57 loss at Wisconsin-Platteville on November 11, the Vikings returned to Platteville the next weekend and won both of their games at the Pioneer Classic. Jurgutis was named the tournament MVP in leading the Vikings to wins over St. Olaf (68-59) and Simpson (87-54). St. Olaf would go on to win 22 games, claim the MIAC tournament championship and reach the NCAA tournament. Ryan was also an all-tournament selection.
 
After overwhelming Knox on the road, Augustana traveled to Loras to take on a Duhawk club with recent wins over pre-season top five teams Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton. Sophomore point guard Hunter Hill (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.) emerged as dynamic scoring threat, putting up 23 points to lead the Vikings to a 67-65 win.
 
Augustana won five more in a row to extend its winning streak to nine games heading into CCIW play. Included in that stretch of non-conference wins was a 79-57 dismantling of eventual IIAC champion and NCAA tournament participant Central.
 
The Vikings improved to 12-1 overall with two wins to open league play. They defeated Carthage 82-74 at home before knocking off third-ranked Illinois Wesleyan 81-73, also at Carver Center. Hill led the way in the win over the Titans, scoring a career-high 29 points, including 18 in a span of just 2:45 in the first half.
 
The team bounced back from a 66-63 overtime loss at Wheaton with three more wins to improve 15-2 overall and 5-1 in the conference. However, a four-game losing streak followed, knocking Augustana out of CCIW title contention. The Vikings snapped the skid with a 65-58 win at Carthage and won at Millikin 76-59 before avenging an earlier loss to Elmhurst. The Vikings hammered the Bluejays 80-52 at home behind a career-high 19 points from sophomore forward Tayvian Johnson (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.). Giovanine's club closed the regular season with a 91-61 win at North Park.
 
The only program to qualify for the CCIW tournament every year since its inception in 2006, Augustana suffered a semifinal loss to Wheaton, 66-55 in Bloomington, Illinois.
 
With a 19-7 record, the Vikings earned an NCAA tournament bid and were sent to Whitewater, Wisconsin, where 2011 national champion and 18th-ranked St. Thomas was their first round opponent. They used a near school-record shooting performance (.686 from the field) and a 33-20 advantage on the glass to win 88-77, avenging a loss to the Tommies three years earlier in the NCAA quarterfinals. The host Warhawks, who would go on to win the national title, ended Augustana's season 87-68 the next night. It was the ninth time in 13 Division III tournament appearances that the Vikings have been eliminated by the eventual champion.
 
Hill averaged 17.0 points in the two NCAA tournament games on 12-of-19 (.632) field goal and 5-of-8 (.625) three-point shooting. Jurgutis, just getting back into a rhythm after a foot injury cost him six games late in the season, came off the bench to average 14.5 points on .647 shooting from the field. Ryan, who had game highs of 17 points and eight rebounds against St. Thomas, averaged 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds and shot .588 from the field for the weekend.
 
On the season, Hill averaged 13.1 points per game to lead Augustana in scoring. The second team All-CCIW performer and team MVP also had a team-high 54 assists and became just the third player in school history—and the first since 1988-89—to officially lead the team in field goal (.516), three-point and free throw percentage. His .480 from beyond the arc this year is the fifth-best single season mark in school history and his .862 percentage from the foul line ranks ninth all-time at Augustana. In addition, Hill is currently the school's career leader in free throw percentage at .860, while ranking fourth in three-point percentage at .449.
 
Johnson, who was named to the All-CCIW third team, was the Vikings' second leading scorer at 9.9 points per game and led in blocked shots (18) and steals (37). Ryan led the team in rebounding at 6.5 per game and finished third in scoring at 9.1 points per contest. Jurgutis battled through the late-season injury to average 8.9 points.
 
Schlitter averaged 7.4 points and 5.1 rebounds and shot .507 from the floor. Junior post Nic Hoepfner (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) averaged 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds with a .542 field goal percentage. Junior guard Mark Roth (Washington HS, Metamora, Ill.) averaged 6.0 points on shooting percentages of .426 from long range and .947 from the free throw line.
 
Sophomore Jawan Straughter (Plainfield East, Bolingbrook, Ill.) played both guard spots, starting the last seven games of the year, and was selected as the team's Outstanding Defender. He was also one of the Vikings' most efficient shooters. He averaged 4.8 points on percentages of .531 from the floor, .545 from three-point range and .778 from the line. Sophomore post Brandon Motzel (Carmel HS, Buffalo Grove, Ill.) started the final seven games at center. He was the team's top rebounder on a per-minute basis, averaging 4.2 per game to go along with 3.8 points and a .536 field goal percentage. Sophomore Griffin Pils (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) averaged 3.7 points a game and had the best assist-to-turnover ratio (38: 22) on the club.
 
2013-14 CCIW MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS

TEAM	CCIW	W-L	PCT	Overall	W-L	PCT
Illinois Wesleyan		12-2	.857		27-5	.844
Wheaton		10-4	.714		21-9	.700
AUGUSTANA		9-5	.643		20-8	.714
Carthage		9-5	.643		16-10	.615
North Central		7-7	.500		14-11	.560
Elmhurst		6-8	.429		14-11	.560
Millikin		2-12	.143		8-17	.320
North Park		1-13	.071		4-21	.160

 
2014 CCIW Tournament
Shirk Center-Illinois Wesleyan University-Bloomington, Illinois
 
Semifinals—Friday, February 28
(2) Wheaton 66, (3) AUGUSTANA 55
Illinois Wesleyan 76, Carthage 71
 
Championship—Saturday, March 1
(2) Wheaton 87, (1) Illinois Wesleyan 66—CCIW Tournament Championship
 
2013-14 AUGUSTANA SUPERLATIVES
CCIW TOURNAMENT: Only school to qualify for every CCIW tournament
D3HOOPS.COM NATIONAL RANKING: Ranked for nine weeks, reaching a high of 12th in week five
CCIW ALL-CONFERENCE: Hunter Hill (2nd Team); Tayvian Johnson (3rd Team)
CCIW ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE: Jake Gylten, Michael Hoekstra, Jacob Johnston, Brandon Motzel, Ben Ryan.
CCIW TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS: Rebound Margin—Plus-6.9 per game; Offensive Rebounds—11.79 per game.
SINGLE-SEASON TOP TEN: 3-pt FG%—.480, Hunter Hill, 5th; FT%—.862, Hunter Hill, 9th.
CAREER TOP TEN: FT%—.860, Hunter Hill, 1st; 3-pt FG%—.449, Hunter Hill, 4th; 3-pt FG—115, Mark Roth, 10th.
 
2013-14 MEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS
Varsity MVP: Hunter Hill
Leading Rebounder: Ben Ryan
Outstanding Defender: Jawan Straughter
J.V. MVP: Jake Norcia