Box Score

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Junior Chrishawn Orange (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) scored the game's first eight points Wednesday and finished the night with a game-high 22, as Augustana led wire-to-wire in a 71-65 win over North Central at Gregory Arena. The victory pulled the Vikings, 17-5 overall and 9-4 in the CCIW, into a tie for second place with the Cardinals, who dropped to 16-6 overall and 9-4 in the league. In the event of a season-ending tie, Augustana would have the advantage by virtue of its season sweep of North Central.
 
Orange had a three-pointer, a two-point field goal and a conventional three-point play to give the Vikings an 8-0 lead five minutes in. A Mike Pollack three-pointer finally got the hosts on the board at 14:20 of the first half.
 
Junior Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Denver, Colo.) had eight points, including consecutive three-pointers, in a 10-0 Augustana run that extended the advantage to 21-8 with 8:38 left in the half. The margin remained in double digits for the rest of the period, reaching a high of 17 (30-13) on a pair of Brett Benning (Dakota HS, Davis, Ill.) free throws 2:47 before intermission. Senior Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) blocked Tommy Koth's three-point attempt just before the halftime buzzer and Augustana took a 32-16 lead to the locker room.
 
The Vikings limited the Cardinals to six of 29 (.207) field goal shooting in the first half and just four of 17 (.235) from beyond the arc. North Central did not get to the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The margin remained double digits until late in the second half. Augustana's biggest lead of the night came at 46-27 with 13:11 to play when Orange split a pair of free throws.
 
An Alex Sorenson three-pointer with four minutes left trimmed the Cardinals' deficit to single digits for the first time since midway through the first half. The Viking lead was still 10 (69-59) after an Ebel layup with 2:44 left, but Sorenson sandwiched a pair of layups around two Aiden Chang free throws as the hosts cut it to 69-65 at the one-minute mark. Ebel hit two of four free throws in the final 55 seconds while North Central misfired on a trio of three-point attempts, allowing Augustana to come away with the win.
 
Orange's 22 points came on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, including two of two from beyond the arc. He also had four rebounds and two steals. Ebel added 18 points, along with team highs of six rebounds and three assists. Sorenson finished with 19 points and seven rebounds and Pollack came off the bench to make five three-pointers and score 17 points.
 
The Vikings finished 24 of 50 (.480) from the field, six of 14 (.429) from three-point range and 17 of 24 (.708) from the foul line. The Cardinals shot .390 from the floor on 23 of 59, connected on nine of 32 (.281) from beyond the arc and hit 10 of 15 (.667) free throws. Augustana held a 32-29 advantage on the glass and committed 13 turnovers to 11 for North Central.
 
Now a half-game behind Illinois Wesleyan for the CCIW lead, the Vikings hit the road on Saturday for Decatur, Illinois and a date with the Millikin Big Blue. Tipoff at the Griswold Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.