Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Junior Brett Benning (Dakota HS, Davis, Ill.) had a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds and senior Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) scored his 1,000th career point Friday as Augustana advanced to Saturday's championship game of the CCIW Tournament with a 72-64 win over Wheaton at Carver Center. The 21-5, top-seeded Vikings will square off with third-seeded 19-7 North Central, a 70-64 winner over Illinois Wesleyan in the other semifinal. Tipoff at Carver is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The Thunder finished the season with a record of 17-9.
 
The first half was tight the entire way with neither team leading by more than four points. The second half played out differently, with Augustana first and then Wheaton putting together big runs.
 
After briefly jumping in front by eight (45-37) early in the second half on a Benning three-pointer, the Viking lead was 49-44 with 13 minutes to play. On consecutive possessions, junior Chrishawn Orange (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) scored in transition, also drawing a foul each time. A Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Denver, Colo.) rebound of an Aston Francis missed three-pointer led to the first three-point play, which Orange converted. A Roman Youngblut (Assumption HS, Davenport, Iowa) blocked shot led to the second opportunity, although Orange missed the free throw, leaving the margin at 54-44.
 
Augustana's run continued with a layup from Sortillo and another by Donovan Ferguson (Downers Grove South HS, Darien, Ill.) off of a great feed from Benning and the hosts led 58-44 with 9:58 to play.
 
The Thunder started their answer almost immediately with a Spencer Peterson three-pointer from the left corner. Ricky Samuelson, Jay Spencer and Francis each hit a pair of free throws to complete a 9-0 run that trimmed the deficit to 58-53. The teams then traded baskets until a Luke Peters layup cut it to 62-59. After a Viking timeout, Francis' fourth and final trey of the night pulled Wheaton even at 62-all with 2:53 to play.
 
Augustana went back to Benning, who hit three of four free throws on the next two possessions to make it 65-62 Vikings. The Thunder got to within 65-64 on a Kobe Eichelberger layup with 54 seconds left, but the hosts got defensive stops on Wheaton's last three possessions, while Ebel delivered a three-point play and Sortillo and Benning each hit two free throws to ice the win. Sortillo's pair put him right at 1,000 points for his career, as he became the 27th player in school history to reach that milestone.
 
The biggest lead of the first half was four points by Augustana on several occasions. A pair of Francis three-pointers keyed a 7-0 Thunder spurt that gave Wheaton its biggest advantage at 29-26 with 5:54 left in the half, but junior Joe Kellen (Rockford Lutheran HS, Rockford, Ill.) scored five points and Benning four as the Vikings closed the half with an 11-6 run to lead 37-35 at the break.
 
In addition to his 20 points and 12 boards, Benning had three assists and a pair of steals. Orange added a dozen points and four rebounds and Ebel 10 points, four rebounds and four assists. Kellen scored a career high nine on 4-of-5 shooting. Along with his eight points, Sortillo dished out three assists and Ferguson scored seven and blocked two shots.
 
Francis—this year's CCIW Most Outstanding Player—scored a game-high 26, but hit just eight of 24 shots from the floor, including four of 13 from beyond the arc. Eichelberger was the only other Thunder in double digits with 10.
 
Augustana finished the night 25 of 50 (.500) from the field, four of 14 (.286) from three-point range and 18 of 25 (.720) from the foul line. Wheaton shot .404 (21-52) from the floor and .250 (6-24) from three-point range while converting 16 of 23 (.696) free throws. The Vikings won the battle of the boards 34-28 and turned it over 12 times to 10 for the visitors.
 
Coach Grey Giovanine's club will be looking for the CCIW's automatic NCAA Tournament bid when it takes on North Central Saturday. Augustana won both meetings between the teams this year, but the Cardinals defeated the Vikings in the conference tournament championship game last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin.