CHICAGO, Ill.—Augustana outscored North Park 37-10 over the last 14 minutes Saturday to come from behind for a 73-54 road win. Coach Grey Giovanine's outfit improved to 11-5 on the season and 5-2 in the CCIW, while NPU dropped to 2-14 overall and 0-7 in the league.
 
Toby Marek's two free throws with 14:10 remaining put the hosts on top 44-36, but Pierson Wofford (Springfield Lutheran HS, Springfield, Ill.) scored nine points in a 17-0 Augustana run over the next six minutes. His deep three with 8:23 remaining put the Vikings up 53-44.
 
North Park pulled to within seven points twice, but four different players scored in a 9-0 Augustana run that stretched the margin to 64-48. Wofford scored the last of his game-high 26 points to put the guests up 72-54 with 1:36 left before Giovanine pulled his starters.
 
The Viking zone limited NPU to just four field goals over the last 14 minutes, including the hosts' only two three-pointers of the night, which came late, with Augustana comfortably ahead.
 
The first half was nip-and-tuck, with three ties and eight lead changes. North Park's biggest leads came at 14-9 after an Izaiah Sanders steal and layup and at 16-11 after another Sanders bucket. Augustana's biggest first-half advantage came when freshman Matt Hanushewsky (Hersey HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) hit the second of two free throws to make it 26-22 with 5:14 left.
 
Alex Flute's two charity tosses at the 1:41 mark sent NPU to intermission with a 30-29 lead, as each team had three empty possessions to end the half.
 
The lead changed hands three times in the first two minutes of the second half. Wofford scored with 17:49 to play to give Augustana a 36-34 edge, but North Park responded with 10 straight points to take its biggest lead of the game. Marek and Karl Polk each scored four in the spurt.
 
Wofford's 26 came on 10-of-14 shooting from the field. Lucas Simon (Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Micah Martin (Iowa City HS, Iowa City, Iowa) contributed 12 points and eight boards and Jack Jelen (Bay HS, Bay Village, Ohio) had eight points (all in the second half), five assists and three steals. Freshman Daniel Carr (Regis Jesuit HS, Highlands Ranch, Colo.) grabbed six rebounds in just 13 minutes off the bench.
 
Sanders led NPU with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor. Marek added 13 points and Polk had 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
 
Augustana shot .569 from the field in the second half to finish the night 27 of 55 (.491). The Vikings connected on six of 22 (.273) from long range and 13 of 22 (.591) from the free throw line. North Park shot .440 (22 of 50) from the floor, but just .346 in the second half. NPU was two of 10 (.200) from three-point range and eight of 11 (.727) at the foul line. Augustana had a 31-30 edge on the glass and committed just eight turnovers to 18 for the hosts.
 
Giovanine's crew travels to Naperville, Illinois on Wednesday, January 22 to wrap up the first half of the CCIW slate versus 16th-ranked North Central. Tipoff at Gregory Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.