Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Washington University held Augustana to .321 shooting from the field Sunday and handed the Vikings a 68-61 defeat at Carver Center. The 20th-ranked Bears improved to 4-0 on the season, while the 18th-ranked hosts fell to 4-1.
 
Washington jumped in front 11-0 to start the game, as Augustana missed its first five shots. A three-pointer from Brett Benning (Dakota HS, Davis, Ill.) with 14:08 left in the half finally got the lid off for the Vikings. The Bears' lead was still 15-8 at the 11-miinute mark, when Coach Mark Edwards subbed in an entire new lineup. Augustana was able to take advantage, eventually cutting the deficit to a single point (17-16) on a Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) bucket with 6:42 left in the half.
 
A three-pointer from Clinton Hooks later extended the Washington edge to 29-21 before he fouled Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Englewood, Colo.) on a three-point attempt in the final minute. Ebel converted all three free throws to send the Vikings to halftime trailing 29-24.
 
Two Chrishawn Orange (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) free throws and a short Sortillo jumper to start the second half drew Augustana to within one point (29-28) again and the deficit was still one (31-30) following an A.J. Dollmeyer (Polo HS, Polo, Ill.) put-back with 17 minutes to play.
 
Over the next ten minutes, however, the Bears went on a 25-10 run that extended the margin to its largest of the afternoon at 56-40.
 
The lead was still 16 points (61-45) with three minutes to play, when the Vikings staged a rally. Orange started it with a three-pointer from the right wing. Two Pierson Wofford (Springfield Lutheran HS, Springfield, Ill.) free throws at 2:06 cut the deficit to 61-50 and a Sortillo trey with a minute and a half left made it 61-53.
 
After Hooks missed the front end of a one-and-one, he fouled Sortillo on a three attempt and the Augustana junior converted all three freebies to make it 61-56 as the clock ticked under a minute. After David Schmelter split a pair of free throws and Jake Knupp missed the front end of a bonus opportunity, Ebel hit a three from straight on to get the Vikings to within three (62-59) with 51 seconds left.
 
Augustana had a chance to cut it to one or tie after Sortillo drew a charge from Andrew Sanders with 25 seconds left, but a turnover gave it back to Washington and the Bears drilled six straight free throws down the stretch to ice the win.
 
Ebel and Sortillo shared scoring honors for the hosts with 13 each, while Dollmeyer and Orange added 10 apiece. Ebel and Jacob Johnston (Erie HS, Cordova, Ill.) each grabbed a team-high five boards. For the game, Augustana hit just 18 of 56 (.321) field goal attempts. The Vikings were six of 18 (.333) from beyond the arc and 19 of 24 (.792) from the foul line. Washington hit .500 from the floor on 26 of 52, .313 (5-16) from three and .733 (11-15) from the free throw line. The Bears held a 36-34 margin on the glass and had 13 turnovers to 10 for Augustana.
 
Coach Grey Giovanine's bunch will be back at Carver Center on Wednesday, November 30 against another ranked foe when 21st-rated Wisconsin-Oshkosh comes calling. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.