WAUKESHA, Wis. – Junior Pierson Wofford (Springfield Lutheran HS, Springfield, Ill.) had game-highs of 26 points, nine rebounds and three steals Saturday to lead second-ranked Augustana to a 68-56 victory over Carroll at Van Male Field House. The Vikings won their 17th consecutive game—and first at Van Male since 1991—to improve to 19-1 on the season and 11-0 in the CCIW. The Pioneers fell to 7-

13 on the year and 3-8 in the league.
 
Augustana trailed early, but never by more than four points. With five minutes left in the first half, junior Lucas Simon (Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) drilled a three-pointer from the left corner that gave the Vikings their first lead at 24-21. Carroll's Troy Howat tied it at 24-all with a three, but a Wofford steal led to him hitting two free throws and Augustana was ahead for good.
 
A Wofford trey pushed the advantage to 29-24 and the Vikings eventually took a 34-28 lead to intermission after a Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Denver, Colo.) three-pointer with 40 seconds left in the half. Wofford went to the locker room with 13 points and seven boards.
 
Augustana extended the margin to eight on three occasions early in the second half, but layups by Tarren Hall and Kale Maupin pulled the Pioneers to within 41-37. They still trailed by just four (43-39) as the clock ticked under 13 minutes, but Wofford scored seven straight points as the Vikings went on a 10-1 run over the next 4½ minutes to go up 53-40.
 
Carroll made one final push, with a Maupin bucket trimming the deficit to 55-49 with 5:47 to play. However, senior Chrishawn Orange (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) sandwiched a three-pointer and a layup around a Micah Martin (Iowa City HS, Iowa City, Iowa) bucket and the margin was back to 13 (62-49) at the 2:25 mark. The hosts would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way. An Orange free throw with 33 seconds left gave Augustana its biggest lead of the game (68-54) before Hall hit a layup to account for the final.
 
Wofford's 26 points were a career high and came on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-2 from behind the arc. No other Viking reached double figures, although Orange scored eight, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out four assists and came away with three steals. Simon and Austin Elledge (Highland HS, Highland, Ill.) also tallied eight apiece.
 
The Vikings converted 25 of 47 (.532) from the field, seven of 12 (.583) from three-point range and 11 of 16 (.688) from the foul line, while Carroll shot .412 (21-51), .316 (6-19) and .727 (8-11), respectively. Augustana led on the glass by a 32-26 margin and each team turned it over 17 times.
 
Coach Grey Giovanine's club faces a tough road test on Wednesday, January 30. Augustana travels to Naperville, Illinois to face North Central, its closest pursuer in the CCIW race. The Vikings and Cardinals (17-3, 9-2) are scheduled to tip off at Gregory Arena at 7:00 p.m.