Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana went back to the basics of defense and rebounding Saturday, holding Carthage without a field goal for the first 17½ minutes of the game and outrebounding the Red Men 46-35 to post a 60-29 win at Carver Center. With the victory, Coach Grey Giovanine's sixth-ranked Vikings improve to 18-4 overall and 8-3 in the CCIW. Carthage drops to 7-14 on the season and 3-8 in the league.
 
Seven different players scored as the hosts jumped out in front 15-0 seven minutes in. A pair of Ellis Matthews free throws finally got the Red Men on the board, but Augustana continued to build on the lead, pushing it over 20 (27-6) on a Brandon Motzel (Carmel HS, Grayslake, Ill.) put-back with 5:22 left in the first half.
 
When Hunter Hill (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.) scored to put the Vikings up 33-9 with 2:44 to play before halftime, Carthage was still looking for its first field goal of the game. It came seconds later on a three-pointer from the left corner by Mike Stephenson, but Nic Hoepfner (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) answered with a hoop in the lane. Tayvian Johnson (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) added a three-pointer from deep on the right wing just before halftime and Augustana took a 38-12 lead into the locker room.
 
The Vikings held the Red Men to just that single field goal in 15 first half attempts. Carthage finished the stanza 0 of 10 from inside the arc. Despite struggling from three-point range (two of 11) in the opening 20 minutes, Augustana put together a solid half offensively, hitting 13 of 20 (.650) shots from inside the arc, all six of its free throws and committing just two turnovers.
 
The Vikings stretched the lead out in the second half despite laboring at times on offense themselves, going up by 30 (53-23) at the 7:33 mark on a Hoepfner basket in the lane. Sophomore Michael Hoekstra (Bishop McNamara HS, St. Anne, Ill.) scored the final basket of the game and the final margin represented Augustana's biggest lead of the night. The Vikings limited the Red Men to just five field goals in 30 second half tries.
 
For the game, Augustana held Carthage to six of 45 shooting from the field (.133) and two of 15 (.133) from three-point range. The Vikings also forced 21 Red Men turnovers. The 29 points were the fewest by a Viking opponent since a 98-28 win over Millikin on January 28, 2012.
 
Motzel led the Vikings with 11 points and added seven rebounds and three steals. Hill was in double figures as well, with 10 points. Hoepfner scored eight, to go along with a game-high nine rebounds. Junior Jawan Straughter (Plainfield East HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.) had two blocks and two steals, while classmates Johnson and Ben Ryan (Washington HS, Washington, Ill.) added a pair of blocks and a pair of steals, respectively. Kiston Lee led Carthage with eight points.
 
Next up for Augustana is a huge contest at Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday, February 11. With three games to play, the Titans sit one game ahead of the Vikings atop the CCIW standings. Tipoff at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.