ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana shot .604 from the field and held off a late Carroll rally Saturday, defeating the Pioneers 73-68 on Senior Day at Carver Center. The Vikings' lone senior,
Jack Jelen (Bay HS, Bay Village, Ohio), was honored before the game. The win lifted Coach
Steve Schafer's club to 6-4 on the season and in the CCIW, while the visitors fell to 4-7 overall and in the league.
Jelen,
Carter Duwa (Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) and
Matt Hanushewsky (Hersey HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) each hit a three-pointer as Augustana jumped in front 11-6 3½ minutes in. Carroll responded with nine straight points, taking a 15-11 lead on Carter Sturgeon's triple.
The Vikings never let the deficit exceed four points and eventually retook the lead (26-24) on a
Daniel Carr (Regis Jesuit HS, Highlands Ranch, Colo.) layup at the 7:04 mark of the first half. Pioneer Ryan Mendoza answered with a bucket to forge one final tie before a
Nate Ortiz (St. Charles East HS, St. Charles, Ill.) trey gave the hosts the lead for good. Duwa and Carr each had five points as Augustana went on a 12-0 run over the final 4½ minutes to take a 41-28 lead to intermission.
The Vikings, who hit 16 of 24 (.667) from the floor in the first half, continued their hot shooting in the second stanza. Jelen had a pair of buckets as they extended their lead to 47-33 and later assisted on two three-pointers by Ortiz and another by Carr, as Augustana stretched the margin to 21 (67-46) with 7:04 to play.
However, Carroll used a heavy dose of senior Tarren Hall and some fullcourt zone pressure to fight its way back into it. Hall scored 14 points in a two-minute stretch while the Vikings were experiencing a 3½-minute scoring drought. Hall's three-pointer at the 3:23 mark cut his team's deficit to three (69-66) and after a Carr layup got the lid off the basket for Augustana, he scored again—his 23rd and 24th points of the half—to make it 71-68 with 1:14 remaining.
In the final minute,
Luke Johnson (Longmont HS, Longmont, Colo.) had his short jumper roll of the rim, giving the Pioneers a chance to tie. They missed a layup and a three-pointer, though, before Hanushewsky finally came away with the defensive rebound. The sophomore was fouled and calmly sank both free throws with nine seconds left to ice the victory.
Carr posted his seventh consecutive double-double, with team highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds. Duwa added 16 points and Ortiz 11, drilling three of four three-pointers. In his final regular season game at Carver, Jelen scored seven points and dished out a game-high six assists. Hall finished with a game-high 26 points for Carroll, while freshman Justin Steinike added 18.
For the afternoon, the Vikings converted 29 of 48 (.604) field goals, nine of 18 (.500) three-pointers and six of nine (.667) free throws. Carroll shot .474 on 27 of 57 field goals, .320 (8-25) from beyond the arc and .750 (6-8) from the foul line. Augustana won the battle of the boards 29-23 and finished with 13 turnovers to eight for the Pioneers.
Schafer's club now moves on to CCIW Tournament play. The fourth-seeded Vikings are tentatively scheduled to host fifth seed North Central in quarterfinal action on Saturday, March 6.
