ROCK ISLAND, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team will begin the 2021-22 CCIW slate on Saturday, December 4 when they visit the Millikin Big Blue for each teams' first conference contest.
The Vikings are coming off a road loss to UW-Stevens Point last Sunday by a score of 79-61. The Pointers jumped out to a quick lead in that one and held a double-digit halftime advantage thanks to an efficient first half shooting performance. Stevens Point continued their hot shooting in the second half, bettering their first half efforts to finish the contest with a mark of 55.6 percent. Augustana also shot better in the final 20 minutes, but ended the afternoon hitting just 42.4 percent of their shots. Four Vikings reached double figures in scoring, led by
Luke Johnson with 12. Dan Car secured his fifth double double of the season, tallying 11 points and 12 rebounds, while
Nate Ortiz also added 11 points.
Matt Hanushewsky contributed 10 points and five assists.
Millikin enters Saturday's matchup with a 4-3 record overall under first-year head coach Kramer Soderberg, who recently served as the program's top assistant since 2015. The Big Blue are coming off of a 94-76 home win over Eureka in which they shot 54 percent for the game. Calvin Fisher had 22 points for Millikin and is the team's leading scorer this season at over 15 points per game. The Vikings and Big Blue have one common opponent this season in Illinois College. Millikin fell at home to the Blueboys by a score of 71-58, while Augie defeated them in Rock Island by a final of 64-61. The Big Blue's four wins already surpass last year's total where they saw just one victory in 13 contests. They ended their last full season in 2019-20 with a 4-21 record.
Augustana leads the all-time series between the two 101-57. The Vikings currently hold a 30-game winning streak over the Big Blue, with Millikin's last win in the series coming during the 2005-06 season. The two teams met back in February, resulting in a 79-66 Augustana win in Decatur. Augie's last 12 wins have all been by double digits.Â
Tip is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
Game coverage at Millikin
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