Box Score

DECATUR, Ill. – A strong defensive effort, especially in the first half, helped lift 20^th ranked Augustana to a 69-53 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin road win at Millikin on Saturday, January 21 in Decatur, Illinois. With the victory the Vikings maintained their lead in the league race as the CCIW season reached its halfway point.
 
Millikin scored the first basket of the game to take a 2-0 lead but consecutive baskets by senior Jacob Johnston (Erie HS, Cordova, Ill.) quickly erased that and Augustana was never headed en route to the 16 point victory margin. The first half was vintage Viking defense as the home team scored just 19 points and shot .375 (9 of 24) from the floor, including just .125 (1 of 8) from three point range.
 
Augustana was not especially sharp on offense in the first half, shooting just .400 (12 of 30) for the first 20 minutes so the defensive stranglehold was welcome. In the second half the Vikings heated up considerably and shot .519 (14 of 27) from the floor to finish the game at .456 (26 of 57).
 
The first half was close throughout but an 8-0 run late in the stanza gave head coach Grey Giovanine's team some much needed breathing room. They were ahead just 19-17 with 5:26 left when sophomore Chrishawn Orange (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) scored six points on two baskets and two free throws. A basket by freshman Micah Martin (Iowa City HS, Iowa City, Iowa) with just :25 left capped the eight point surge and made the score 27-17.
 
A basket by Logan Bader of Millikin at the buzzer cut the lead to 27-19 at intermission.
 
In the second half the Vikings used a 12-3 run from the 17:14 mark to 13:42 to build a 15-point cushion (43-28) that was capped by a three point field goal from sophomore Joe Kellen (Rockford Lutheran HS, Rockford, Ill.). The Big Blued did get the lead down to five points (55-50) with 6:35 remaining but two Pierson Wofford (Springfield Lutheran HS, Springfield, Ill.) baskets sandwiched around a three pointer from sophomore Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Denver, Colo.) put the margin back to double digits (62-50) with less than four minutes remaining.
 
Orange led Augustana in scoring with 18 points while Wofford added 14 points, all in the second half. Johnston scored 11 and senior Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) had 10. The Vikings enjoyed a tremendous advantage on the backboards as they outrebounded Millikin 42-23. Wofford and Martin each had seven rebounds to lead the way while Johnston chipped in with six. Martin had a pair of blocked shots while Johnston and Wofford had one each.
 
There were only 10 turnovers in the game as each team was charged with five each. Millikin had two players, Jack Simpson and Jordan Cunningham, in double figures as each scored 10 points.
 
Augustana, which is now 14-3 overall and 7-1 in the CCIW, will host Elmhurst on Wednesday, January 25 in the Carver Center.