ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – It was a night of milestones at Carver Center Wednesday, as Augustana defeated Wheaton 93-83 to move to 21-2 overall and 13-1 in the CCIW. Combined with a North Central loss to Illinois Wesleyan, the Vikings clinched no less than a share of their fifth consecutive conference championship—something that had

never before been accomplished in the 73-year history of the league. In addition, the victory was the 99th in which senior Chrishawn Orange (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) has played during his career, more than any other player in program history.
 
Junior Pierson Wofford (Springfield Lutheran HS, Springfield, Ill.) scored seven points in the first 6½ minutes as Coach Grey Giovanine's squad jumped out in front 15-5. Augustana extended its advantage to 11 (22-11) but, as it would all night, Wheaton (16-7, 9-5) answered. Little-used Gavin Hawkins buried a pair of three-pointers and Spencer Peterson another in a span of 47 seconds and the Thunder trailed just 22-20 with just over 10 minutes to play in the half.
 
A conventional three-point play by Luke Peters 8:15 before halftime gave the visitors their first lead of the evening at 28-26. Wofford had consecutive field goals to put Augustana back on top 37-31 with 4:51 left in the half, but Wheaton responded with a 9-0 run capped by a Nyameye Adom layup that made it 40-37 Thunder at the three-minute mark. Brett Benning (Dakota HS, Davis, Ill.) and Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Denver, Colo.) each hit three free throws in the final 2½ minutes and the hosts eventually took a 45-43 advantage to the halftime break.
 
Wheaton continued to make runs at the Vikings in the second half, but could never pull even. A Wofford jumper and a Benning trey stretched the margin to 52-45, but Aston Francis, the nation's leading scorer, hit a three and a deuce to trim it back to two.
 
A Benning bucket with 9:55 to play pushed the lead to 69-58, matching Augustana's largest of the night, but a 10-3 run capped by another Francis triple again pulled the Thunder to within two at 72-70 with seven minutes remaining. However, Wofford answered with another hoop and Ebel drilled a three-pointer and the margin wouldn't dip under seven in the final six minutes. An Ebel layup at the four-minute mark gave the Vikings their biggest lead of the night (84-72), one they matched 80 seconds later on Ebel's conventional three-point play.
 
Wofford finished with 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field. Benning added 18, Ebel 16 and Orange 14. Of the Viking backcourt's 30 points, 22 came in the second half. Micah Martin (Iowa City HS, Iowa City, Iowa) and Austin Elledge (Highland HS, Highland, Ill.) chipped in with nine points apiece. Ebel, Orange and Martin helped Augustana to a 35-30 edge on the boards, grabbing a half-dozen each. Martin also finished with three blocked shots. Francis needed 32 field goal attempts to tally a game-high 35 points, about three above his average for the year. Hawkins finished with 13.
 
Augustana shot a blistering .607 (34-56) from the floor against the CCIW's top field goal percentage defense. The Vikings hit six of 18 (.333) three-point attempts and 19 of 28 (.679) free throws. Wheaton shot .441 (26-59) from the field, .433 (13-30) from behind the arc and .750 (18-24) from the foul line. Turnovers were even at 13.
 
The Vikings will attempt to clinch the CCIW championship outright and secure host duties for the upcoming conference tournament when Millikin visits Carver on Saturday, February 9. It will also be Senior Night, with Orange, Ebel, Benning and Joe Kellen (Rockford Lutheran HS) being honored. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.