Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Junior Griffin Pils (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) scored a career-high 24 points Wednesday night at Carver Center, but it wasn't enough to prevent sixth-ranked Augustana from dropping its second straight game. The Vikings fell 72-70 to North Central in overtime. Augustana is now 17-4 overall and falls into a tie for second in the CCIW at 7-3. The visiting Cardinals improve to 16-5 on the season and 6-4 in the league.
 
Pils' 15 second-half points helped the Vikings overcome an 18-point deficit and eventually force the extra session. Jack Burchett scored in the lane with 15:34 to play to put North Central up 44-26, but Augustana outscored the visitors 26-11 over the next 10 and a half minutes to cut the Cardinal advantage to 55-52. Pils had three treys in the run, including two that took the score from 55-46 to 55-52.
 
A conventional three-point play by Jawan Straughter (Plainfield East HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.) at the 3:35 mark tied things at 55-all. Four straight points by Charles Rosenberg put North Central up 59-55 with two minutes left, but Pils tied the contest with a basket in the lane at 1:58 and a pair free throws with 16 seconds left. Tayvian Johnson (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) blocked Rosenberg's last-second attempt at a game winner.
 
Straughter drove the lane to draw first blood in overtime, but the Cardinals answered with five straight points and held onto the lead the rest of the way.
 
A trey from Pils, a long two from Hunter Hill (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.) and a Brandon Motzel (Carmel HS, Grayslake, Ill.) free throw got the Vikings off to a 6-0 lead, but North Central responded with a 14-0 run and Augustana found itself playing catch up until late in regulation. The Cardinals took a 33-19 lead into the locker room by holding Augustana to just six field goals in 18 first-half attempts. North Central also outrebounded the Vikings by an 18-8 margin in the opening 20 minutes.
 
In addition to Pils' 24 points, Hill added 19 and a game-high four assists. Johnson scored eight and Straughter seven and the duo shared the team lead with six rebounds each. Augustana finished the night 24 of 52 (.462) from the floor, nine of 24 (.375) from three-point range and 13 of 18 (.722) from the free throw line. North Central, which got 24 points from Rosenberg and 16 each from Burchett and Kevin Honn, shot .481 (26 of 54) from the field, .571 (four of seven) from behind the arc and .727 (16 of 22) from the foul line. The Cardinals finished the night with a 31-29 advantage on the glass and committed just 11 turnovers to 14 for the Vikings.
 
Augustana will look to right the ship on Saturday, February 7 when Carthage visits Carver Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.