Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana hit its first 10 shots from the field Saturday and rolled to a 96-50 win over Millikin at Carver Center. Coach Grey Giovanine's squad improved to 17-1 on the year and 6-1 in the CCIW. The Big Blue fell to 6-12 on overall and 0-7 in the conference. Combined with North Central's 80-62 win over Elmhurst Saturday in Naperville, Illinois, Augustana moves into a three-way tie for the league lead with the Cardinal and Bluejays. The Vikings host Elmhurst at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 27.
 
Jawan Straughter's (Plainfield East HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.) three-pointer on the Vikings' first possession Saturday gave them a lead that they would never relinquish. Ben Ryan (Washington HS, Washington, Ill.) and Brandon Motzel (Carmel HS, Buffalo Grove, Ill.) each added a bucket and Hunter Hill's (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.) jumper from the left side just inside the arc put the hosts up 9-0 three minutes in.
 
Augustana would go on to score on its first 10 possessions and led 23-5 before committing its first turnover with 11:34 to play in the first half. The Vikings didn't miss a field goal attempt until the 9:43 mark when Hill's long three from the right wing caught back iron.
 
Ryan's bucket with 8:02 left pushed the margin over 20 (29-8) for the first time. Hill's three-pointer 1:50 before halftime gave the hosts their biggest lead of the opening stanza at 46-20. Millikin's Nathan Lovekamp answered with a trey of his own and the teams went to the locker room with Augustana on top 46-23. The Vikings shot .655 from the field in the opening 20 minutes and outrebounded the Big Blue by a 21-5 margin.
 
After the Big Blue's Bryn Agnew tallied the first hoop of the second half, Augustana went on a 10-1 run, pushing its advantage to 30 (56-26) on another Ryan field goal with 15:54 to play. Motzel's dunk off a pick-and-roll feed from Hill extended it to 41 (72-31) just past the halfway point of the second half.
 
With just over seven minutes remaining, Giovanine began clearing his bench, with freshman Pierson Wofford (Springfield Lutheran HS, Springfield, Ill.) and senior Jake Gylten (Iowa City West HS, North Liberty, Iowa) scoring eight and six points, respectively, down the stretch. A steal and layup by freshman Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Englewood, Colo.) accounted for the game's final points.
 
The Vikings finished the night 34 of 58 (.586) from the field, eight of 21 (.381) from beyond the arc and 20 of 27 (.741) from the foul line. They won the battle of the boards 39-23 and committed just five turnovers while piling up 22 assists. Augustana held Millikin to just 16 of 46 (.348) shooting from the floor.
 
Hill and sophomore Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) led a balanced Viking attack with 17 points each. Motzel added 13 and Ryan and Straughter 10 each. Hill dished out a game-high five assists with no turnovers and Ryan snared a game-high six rebounds. T.J. Griffin was the only member of the Big Blue in double figures, finishing with 14.
 
Augustana and Elmhurst—currently ranked second in the nation—face off Wednesday at the Carver Center. The Bluejays clawed out a 77-75 overtime win over the Vikings on January 6 at Faganel Hall in Elmhurst, Illinois—the only setback for Giovanine's club this season.