Box Score

ELMHURST, Ill. – Augustana shot .708 from the field and .750 from three-point range in the first half and after Elmhurst rallied to take the lead late in the game, outscored the Bluejays 20-7 over the final 7:09 to post a 90-80 win Wednesday at Faganel Hall. The eighth-ranked Vikings improved to 13-3 on the year and 5-2 in the CCIW, while Elmhurst fell to 10-6 overall and 3-4 in the league.
 
The visitors were on fire in the first half, connecting on 17 of 24 field goal attempts, including nine of 12 from beyond the arc. Augustana also hit 11 of 12 (.917) from the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes. A Micah Martin (Iowa City HS, Iowa City, Iowa) bucket with 1:21 to play gave Augustana its biggest lead of the night at 50-35 and a pair of Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Denver, Colo.) free throws with three seconds left sent the Vikings to the halftime break with a 54-41 advantage.
 
Juniors Ebel and Brett Benning (Dakota HS, Davis, Ill.) combined for 22 points in the half without missing a shot. Ebel scored a dozen on 3-of-3 from the floor, 2-of-2 from three-point range and 4-of-4 from the free throw line; while Benning was 3-for-3, 2-for-2 and 2-for-2, respectively, for 10 points. Senior Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) added nine on 3-of-4 shooting from the field.
 
The Bluejays bolted out of the gate in the second half, outscoring Augustana 14-4 in the first four minutes. Jake Rhode's three-pointer with 16:03 to play pulled the hosts to within 58-55, the closest they'd been since 11:12 of the first half.
 
The Vikings held off Elmhurst until the 8:14 mark when the first of two free throws by Lance Gardner tied things at 70-all and the second gave his team its first lead of the night. Gardner's steal and dunk a half-minute later put the Bluejays up 73-70. An Ebel three-pointer tied it before Pavlos Marakis' field goal gave Elmhurst one final lead.
 
Martin tied it at 75-all with a bucket and Sortillo scored to put Augustana back on top before junior Chrishawn Orange (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) scored six straight points to stretch the advantage to 83-75 with 2:54 to play. Rhode pulled the Bluejays to within five on two occasions—on a three-pointer with 1:41 left and with two free throws at the 48-second mark—but that's as close as they would get. Ebel's layup with 20 second remaining bumped the final margin to 10.
 
The Vikings finished the night 30 of 55 (.545) from the field, 12 of 21 (.571) from three-point range and 18 of 21 (.857) from the foul line. Elmhurst shot .518 (29-56) from the floor, .478 (11-23) from beyond the arc and .917 (11-12) from the foul line. Augustana won the battle of the boards against the top rebounding team in the CCIW 31-22 and committed 12 turnovers to 11 for the Bluejays.
 
Ebel led four Vikings in double figures with a game-high 23 points. Orange added 18, along with game highs of seven rebounds and five assists. Sortillo tallied 14 and Benning 12. Rhode scored 22 for Elmhurst and Jeremy Ireland added 17.
 
Coach Grey Giovanine's club will play its second of three straight road games on Saturday, January 20, visiting North Park for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.