Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – After missing the last three games with a knee injury, sophomore center Micah Martin (Iowa City HS, Iowa City, Iowa) returned to the floor Saturday and scored a team-high 18 points to lead Augustana to a 77-74 win over North Central and the 2018 CCIW Tournament championship. The victory at Carver Center lifted the Vikings to 22-5 on the year and earned Coach Grey Giovanine's team the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals fell to 19-8 and will hope for an at-large bid when the pairings are announced on Monday, February 26.
 
A Chrishawn Orange (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) free throw 3:54 before halftime gave the hosts their biggest lead of the first half at 29-23. However, North Central's Alex Sorenson converted two of four free throws in a span of 30 seconds and Mike Pollack hit his second three-pointer of the half to pull the Cardinals to within 29-28 at the break.
 
Martin, who came off the bench for six points and three rebounds in 10 first-half minutes, got the start in the second half and scored eight of Augustana's first 11 points. His block led to an Orange dunk in transition that put the Vikings up 42-37 at the 16:00 mark.
 
With 11 minutes to play, Martin rejected a Sorenson layup, prompting a technical foul on Cardinal Coach Todd Raridon, who was looking for a goaltending call on the play. Brett Benning (Dakota HS, Davis, Ill.) converted both free throws to push the margin to its largest of the night at 56-47.
 
Following the technical, Raridon switched to a zone defense and Augustana committed turnovers on its next four possessions. North Central scored eight straight points, six by Connor Raridon, to trim the margin to 56-55. A Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Denver, Colo.) three-pointer broke the ice for the Vikings and after Aiden Chang matched it for the Cardinals, it would be a one-possession game for the next four minutes as the teams traded baskets.
 
Three-pointers by Benning and Ebel and two Orange free throws matched the biggest margin of the night at 73-64 with three minutes left. After a Sorenson bucket, Martin hit two free throws to match it again at 75-66.
 
Augustana still led 77-70 after two Martin charity tosses with 1:32 to play, but the visitors got a Matt Cappelletti bucket, a questionable traveling call on Ebel and a layup from Raridon to get within three (77-74) inside the final minute. The Vikings ran the shot clock down before Orange missed a short jumper. Sorenson grabbed the rebound and North Central had a chance to tie with a three. However, Augustana smothered the Cardinals on the perimeter and Orange got a hand on Raridon's desperation shot from the left wing as time expired.
 
In addition to his 18 points, Martin had four rebounds and two blocked shots in 23 minutes. Benning added 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds and senior A.J. Dollmeyer (Polo HS, Polo, Ill.) and Ebel reached double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Raridon scored 22 for North Central. Pollack added 15 and Sorenson 13, along with eight boards.
 
The Vikings shot .556 (30-55) from the field, including .654 (17-26) in the second half. They hit .389 (7-18) from beyond the arc and .714 (10-14) from the foul line. The Cardinals connected on 25 of 52 (.481) from the floor, eight of 17 (.471) from three-point range and 16 of 21 (.762) from the free throw line. Augustana had a 34-23 edge on the boards against the CCIW's top rebounding team and committed 11 turnovers to just five for North Central.
 
With the conference's automatic bid locked up, the Vikings await Monday's release of the NCAA Tournament pairings. The selection show is scheduled for 11:30 central time.