Box Score

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Augustana rode a fast start to a 72-57 win over Washington University Friday in a battle of top-ten teams at the Bears' Field House. Coach Grey Giovanine's third-ranked Vikings wrapped up the calendar year with a 10-1 record, while the hosts—who came in ranked 10th in the nation—dropped to 8-2 on the season.
 
A Micah Martin (Iowa City HS, Iowa City, Iowa) putback and a three-pointer by Chrishawn Orange (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) staked the visitors to a 5-0 lead and they would never relinquish it. Back-to-back Orange buckets extended the advantage to 14-3 a little more than four minutes in and his steal and dunk made it 20-7 at the 11:32 mark of the first half.
 
Fouled on a three-point attempt, Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Denver, Colo.) converted all three charity tosses to keep margin at 13 (25-12) at the midway point of the half. After a Jack Nolan three-pointer trimmed it to 25-15, Augustana closed the period on a 14-5 run. Martin had four points in the spurt and freshman Carson Frakes (Rockridge HS, Illinois City, Ill.) capped it with a three-pointer with four seconds left that gave his team a 39-20 edge at intermission.
 
The hosts scored the first nine points of the second half, climbing to within 39-29 on a pair of David Schmelter free throws. Senior Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) broke the ice for the Vikings with a three-pointer and he and Ebel each hit again from beyond the arc as Augustana extended its lead back to 48-31 with 15:15 to play.
 
Andrew Sanders scored 11 straight Washington points and Nolan hit a three and short jumper in a 16-7 Bear spree that trimmed the deficit to 58-50 at the 6:47 mark. However, Ebel answered with a bucket and the Vikings' advantage wouldn't dip below double digits again. Brett Benning (Dakota HS, Davis, Ill.) and Orange had steals on Washington's next two possessions and finished them off with two free throws and a layup, respectively. A pair of Sortillo free throws with 1:47 to play accounted for the final.
 
Augustana finished the night 23 of 51 (.451) from the field and held Washington to .345 shooting on 19 of 55. The Vikings hit nine of 20 (.450) three-point attempts, 17 of 23 (.739) free throw tries and won the battle of the boards by a 41-33 margin. The Bears were six of 14 (.429) from beyond the arc, 13 of 23 (.565) from the foul line and committed 18 turnovers to 19 for Augustana.
 
Individually, Orange led four Vikings in double figures with 18 points. He also grabbed five rebounds and a game-high four steals. Ebel added 16 points and five boards, while Sortillo scored a dozen and Martin 10. Martin and Frakes shared the team rebound lead with six each and Frakes also blocked a pair of shots. Sophomore Lucas Simon (Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) had a team-high three assists. Sanders scored 18 of his game-high 21 in the second half for the Bears.
 
Giovanine's crew, 2-0 in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin, moves back into league play after the first of the year. Augustana travels to Bloomington, Illinois on Wednesday, January 3 for a 7:00 p.m. tip against Illinois Wesleyan.