ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team put up its most points in a game since the 2018 season on Wednesday in a 113-65 victory over the Knox Prairie Fire at home.

After the visitors notched the first five points of the contests, the Vikings rattled off a 16-4 run to take control of the game for good. Augustana saw its lead grow to as many 20 before reaching the halfway point of the opening frame and eventually reached the 30-point threshold in the final seconds thanks to a pair of free throws by Ray Maurchie. Eight different Vikings scored in the first half to lead them to a 60-29 lead at the break, led by three double-digit scoring efforts. Tyler Knuth paved the way with 14 points through the first 20 minutes, while Maurchie and Evan Ambrose each added 10. 

As a team, the Vikings shot a blistering 60 percent from the field on 24 made shots in the opening half, while holding the Prairie Fire to just 40 percent on 10 fewer attempts. Augustana also connected on 9-16 shots from three-point range and forced 14 Knox turnovers.

In the second, the visitors again had a fast start with the half's first seven points scored, but the Vikings quickly countered to move the advantage back out to 31 with seven straight points over the span of 90 seconds. The differential never dipped below 30 the rest of the way and eventually reached the 40-point mark with 13 minutes remaining. The benches emptied with around seven minutes to go before the margin reached 43 following a made basket by Nikola Raic. A 6-0 run to close the game that saw points from Justin Garcia, Jake Willems, and Maddux Dieckman put the exclamation point on the 48-point triumph.

A total of 14 of the 15 players that saw the court scored in the win, with Knuth leading the way with a game-high 23 points. Matt Hawkins also reached double figures in with 10, while Ambrose added on to his first-half total to end with 16. The Vikings shot 56.8 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from three.

With the win, Augie improves to 6-3 on the season. The team will be back in action Saturday at Benedictine.