Vikings finish 18-8; place second in the CCIW at 12-4; post 20th consecutive winning record in league play; qualify for CCIW Tournament for 15th year in a row; Pierson Wofford and Micah Martin named first team All-CCIW; Austin Elledge earns second team honors; Wofford named NABC All-District
 
Augustana saw its unprecedented streak of five consecutive CCIW championships snapped in 2019-20, but Coach Grey Giovanine's club put together a solid 18-8 season, finishing second in the league with a record of 12-4. The Vikings posted their 20th consecutive winning season in conference play—the longest such streak in league history—and qualified for the CCIW Tournament for the 15th year in a row. Augustana is the only program to qualify for the event every year since its inception in 2006.
 
Three seniors earned All-CCIW recognition. Forward Pierson Wofford (Springfield Lutheran HS, Springfield, Ill.) and center Micah Martin (Iowa City HS, Iowa City, Iowa) were first team selections, while guard Austin Elledge (Highland HS, Highland, Ill.) earned second team honors. Wofford also garnered second team All-District honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
 
A season that would be plagued by personnel turmoil opened with the Vikings hosting defending national champion and second-ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Playing without Martin, Elledge and Lucas Simon (Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.), Augustana fell 74-67, but followed with four straight wins as Martin and Simon returned. Elledge played in a 70-67 win over Calvin before reaggravating an injury and missing two more games.
 
Augustana suffered a 73-70 at 15th-ranked Washington University on December 1, before opening CCIW play with a 65-63 overtime win over Carroll at Carver Center. The win over the Pioneers—Giovanine's 500th collegiate coaching victory—would be the first of three straight CCIW home dates that would go to overtime. The Vikings split their next four games to end the calendar year at 7-4. They defeated MacMurray (105-63) at home and UW-Stevens Point (68-60) on the road and fell to Illinois Wesleyan (74-67) in overtime at Carver and at 15th-ranked UW-La Crosse (64-62). Elledge dropped in a career-high 27 points in the win over the Pointers.
 
Augustana began the new year with an 84-68 win at #18 Carthage. After an 80-71 loss at 11th-ranked Elmhurst and an 83-58 win at Millikin, the Vikings played their only home date in a month and a half versus Wheaton. Behind a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds from Wofford, Augustana claimed a 79-73 overtime win to move to 10-5 overall and 4-2 in league.
 
Giovanine's bunch won six of its next seven as well, to give it eight wins in nine games. The lone setback came at 16th-ranked and eventual league champ North Central (54-53), when Elledge's potential game-winning three-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer. Victories included a thrilling 94-93 home win over fourth-ranked Elmhurst, which came on Wofford's 30-foot buzzer-beater, and double-digit road wins at Wheaton (79-68) and Illinois Wesleyan (78-64). Martin tallied a career-high 27 points in the win over the Bluejays.
 
In a showdown for the CCIW lead, North Central won 70-55 at Carver Center on February 12, but the Vikings closed the regular season with wins over Carthage (83-81) and North Park (96-73) at home to claim second place in the conference at 12-4 and move to 18-7 overall.
 
Augustana's season came to an end on February 28 with a 74-70 loss to Illinois Wesleyan in the semifinals of the CCIW Tournament in Naperville, Illinois.
 
Wofford, Martin and Elledge, along with classmates Simon, Donovan Ferguson (Downers Grove South HS, Darien, Ill.) and Roman Youngblut (Assumption HS, Davenport, Iowa) leave a legacy that includes a 93-27 (.775) record over the last four years, including a 50-14 (.781) CCIW mark. They were a part of three CCIW championship teams and one conference tournament champion and appeared in three NCAA Division III Tournaments, including a trip to the national championship game in 2017.
 
Wofford led Augustana in scoring this year with a 17.1 average—the highest for a Viking since Rick Harrigan's 22.2 in 2006. He also led the team in rebounding (7.0 rpg) and finished second in field goal (.524), three-point (.395) and free throw (.833) percentages. He wrapped up his career as the 18th-leading scorer (1,166) and 17th-leading rebounder (508) in program history and also ranks in the top 25 all-time in free throws made (286—15th), three-point percentage (.390—20th), field goals (410—21st), free throw percentage (.797—23rd) and blocked shots (33—tied for 23rd).
 
Martin (12.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, .617 fg%, 56 blk) was Augustana's third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder in 2019-20. He led the Vikings in field goal percentage and blocked shots and finished as the school's career record holder in both categories with respective marks of .614 and 211. His 540 career rebounds rank 12th all-time at Augustana and only seven Vikings have ever played in more games than Martin's 112.
 
Elledge led the team in three-point (.420) and free throw (.911) percentages, while ranking second in scoring (13.6 ppg) this year. His 42 threes also led the team and his rate from the charity stripe is tied for second-best ever in a single season at Augustana.
 
Simon (6.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, .395 3p%, .800 ft%, 57 ast, 23 stl) led the Vikings in steals this year and finished fifth on Augustana's all-time games played list with 116. Despite not being a starter until his senior season, he also ranks 25th in three-point percentage (.383) and blocked shots (32) and 26th in assists (203).
 
Junior Jack Jelen (Bay HS, Bay Village, Ohio) led Giovanine's club in assists with 96.
 
Ferguson and Youngblut finished fourth and 22nd on the Vikings' all-time blocked shot list with respective totals of 110 and 34. Youngblut shot .871 from the floor over his final two seasons, making 16 of 19 (.842) as a junior and 11 of 12 (.917) this year.
 
 
2019-20 CCIW MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS

TEAM	CCIW	W-L	PCT	Overall	W-L	PCT
North Central		14-2	.857		23-5	.821
AUGUSTANA		12-4	.750		18-8	.692
Illinois Wesleyan		11-5	.688		19-9	.679
Elmhurst		11-5	.688		25-5	.833
Wheaton		9-7	.563		15-11	.577
Carthage		7-9	.438		15-11	.577
Carroll		5-11	.313		12-13	.480
North Park		2-14	.125		4-21	.160
Millikin		1-15	.063		4-21	.160

 
2020 CCIW Tournament
Gregory Arena—North Central College—Naperville, Illinois
 
First Round—Tuesday, February 25
(3) Illinois Wesleyan 74, (6) Carthage 67 (Bloomington, Ill.)
(4) Elmhurst 71, (5) Wheaton 58 (Elmhurst, Ill.)
 
Semifinals—Friday, February 28
(3) Illinois Wesleyan 74, (2) Augustana 70
(4) Elmhurst 71, (1) North Central 60
 
Championship—Saturday, February 29
(4) Elmhurst 78, (3) Illinois Wesleyan 72
 
2019-20 AUGUSTANA SUPERLATIVES
CCIW TOURNAMENT: Only school to qualify for every CCIW Tournament (15 consecutive)
NABC ALL-CENTRAL DISTRICT: Pierson Wofford (2nd team)
CCIW ALL-CONFERENCE: Pierson Wofford (1st team); Micah Martin (1st team); Austin Elledge (2nd team)
CCIW ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE: Josh Boulanger, Austin Elledge, Lucas Simon
CCIW TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS: 3-point percentage defense—.315; Rebound margin—6.7; Blocked shots per game—4.69
CCIW INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS: Field goal percentage—.543, Pierson Wofford; Blocked shots per game—2.4, Micah Martin
NCAA TOP 25 TEAM RANKINGS: Blocked shots per game—4.9 (16th); Blocked shots—128 (20th)
NCAA TOP 50 INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS: Blocked shots per game—2.24, Micah Martin (20th); Blocked shots—56, Micah Martin (24th)
INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL RECORDS: Field goal percentage, career—.614, Micah Martin; Blocked shots, career—211, Micah Martin
TEAM SCHOOL RECORDS: Blocked shots per game, season—4.92
AUGUSTANA SINGLE-SEASON TOP TEN: Free throw percentage—.911, Austin Elledge (2nd-T); Blocked shots per game—2.24, Micah Martin (2nd-T); Blocked shots—56, Micah Martin (3rd-T); Field goal percentage—.617, Micah Martin (6th)
AUGUSTANA CAREER TOP TEN: Field goal percentage—.614, Micah Martin (1st); Blocked shots—211, Micah Martin (1st); 110, Donovan Ferguson (4th); Blocked shots per game—1.88, Micah Martin (2nd); 1.08, Donovan Ferguson (4th); Games played—116, Lucas Simon (5th); 112, Micah Martin (8th)

2019-20 AWARD WINNERS
Most Outstanding Player: Pierson Wofford
Best Defensive Player: Micah Martin 
Junior Varsity Most Outstanding Player: Daniel Carr, Nate Ortiz