Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Aston Francis dropped in 40 points Wednesday to lead Wheaton to an 86-81 win over Augustana at Carver Center. The victory gave the Thunder, 11-3 overall and 5-1 in the CCIW, sole possession of the conference lead, while the second-ranked Vikings dropped to 11-3 overall and 3-2 in the league.
 
It took Francis a while to get started. His first point came on the second of two free throws at 10:47 of the first half and pulled Wheaton to within 10-8. His first field goal was a three-pointer at the 8:06 mark that put the Thunder on top 19-17. Chrishawn Orange (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) answered with a three from the right wing, giving Augustana its final lead of the night at 20-19.
 
Ricky Samuelson, the nation's leader in three-point percentage, hit from long range with seven minutes left, giving the visitors a 22-20 lead that they would maintain the rest of the way. Francis added three more treys in the first half, including one just before the buzzer that gave his team a 39-33 lead at the break.
 
The Viking deficit grew quickly early in the second half. Francis had a field goal and two three-pointers in the first two and a half minutes and when Kobe Eichelberger hit from beyond the arc with 14:48 to play, Wheaton had its biggest advantage of the night at 53-38.
 
Freshman Carson Frakes (Rockridge HS, Illinois City, Ill.) scored off a Micah Martin (Iowa City HS, Iowa City, Iowa) feed to begin Augustana's comeback. When sophomore Andy McLaughlin (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) hit the second of two free throws at the 12:53 mark, the deficit was under 10 (54-45). McLaughlin tallied the Vikings' next four points as well before junior Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Denver, Colo.) trimmed the margin to 58-51 with a bucket.
 
Ebel's three-pointer with 9:08 to play pulled the hosts to within 61-58. However, the Thunder—usually Francis—had an answer to every Augustana threat. Ebel hit the second of two free throws with 6:25 left to make it 66-64—as close as the Vikings had been since 4:37 of the first half.
 
A Francis three pushed the margin back to seven (75-68), but Augustana responded with a 10-5 run capped by a Martin bucket with 1:23 to play that cut the deficit to 80-78. Francis buried his eighth three-pointer of the night, though and two Samuelson free throws with 15 seconds left sealed the win.
 
The Vikings finished the night 26 of 59 (.441) from the field, but shot .593 (16-27) in the second half. They hit just four of 16 (.250) three-point attempts and were 25 of 35 (.714) from the free throw line. Wheaton shot .418 (23-55) from the field, but nailed 12 of 27 (.444) from long range and 28 of 37 (.757) from the foul line. Rebounds were 39-35 in favor of Augustana and the Vikings committed 12 turnovers to 11 for the Thunder.
 
Ebel led the Vikings with 19 points and six assists before fouling out with three and a half minutes left. Senior Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) added 17 points and McLaughlin 13 in just nine minutes. Martin had game highs of nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Eichelberger and Samuelson complimented Francis' effort with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
 
Augustana is back at Carver Center on Saturday, January 13, hosting Carroll in the second half of a women's/men's doubleheader. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.