Box Score

KENOSHA, Wis. – North Central outscored Augustana 42-35 in the second half Saturday and handed the Vikings a 69-64 defeat in the Championship game of the CCIW Tournament. The fourth-seeded Cardinals (17-10) earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament, while the Vikings (19-8), who came in as the third seed, will hope for an at-large berth.
 
Sophomore Chrishawn Orange (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) carried Augustana in a first half dominated by the defenses. He opened the game with a three-pointer and hit another just before the halftime buzzer to give the Vikings a 29-27 lead at the break. He hit five of seven shots from the field and had 14 points in the opening stanza, while the rest of the team was a combined five of 21 from the floor.
 
The first 10 minutes were nip-and-tuck. Neither team led by more than three points until Jagger Anderson and Aiden Change hit consecutive three-pointers to put North Central up 21-12 at the 8:31 mark of the first half. Orange scored six points in an 8-0 Augustana run that cut the deficit to 21-20.
 
An Anderson layup with just under three minutes on the clock extended the Cardinal lead back to 27-22, but the Vikings closed the half with an Orange field goal, two Lucas Simon (Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) free throws and Orange's half-ending three. Augustana finished the half 10 of 28 (.357) from the field, while North Central hit 10 of 29 (.345).
 
There were five lead changes in the first six minutes of the second half, but Nick Chambers hit consecutive field goals, one a three-pointer, to put the Cardinals up 47-41 with 12:25 to play. A Chang bucket gave North Central its largest lead of the half at 51-43 in 10:32 left.
 
A Brett Benning (Dakota HS, Davis, Ill.) basket at the 7:36 mark cut the deficit to three (53-50), but Chang's three with 3:13 left pushed it back to eight (61-53).
 
The Cardinals still led 63-55 with 1:55 left, but Orange scored four points in a 6-1 Viking run. His two free throws with 26 seconds left drew Augustana to within 64-61. Anderson hit two free throws, but a Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) three-pointer with 19 seconds left cut the margin to 66-64. After a timeout, the Vikings fouled Erwin Henry, who hit one of two free throws to leave the door open. However, Augustana committed a turnover leading to a Chang breakaway which accounted for the final.
 
Orange finished with a game-high 20 points. Sortillo and Benning added 10 each. Michael Hoekstra (Bishop McNamara HS, Saint Anne, Ill.) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench. Alex Sorenson led North Central with 19 points and eight rebounds. Chang had 17 points and six boards and Anderson 15 and five, respectively.
 
The Vikings finished the night 22 of 56 (.393) from the field, five of 15 (.333) from beyond the arc and 15 of 17 (.882) from the foul line. The Cardinals hit .414 (24-58) from the field, .500 (8-16) from three-point range (5-8 in the second half) and 13 of 19 (.684) from the free throw line. Augustana led 38-35 on the glass, but committed 12 turnovers to 10 for North Central.