ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team hit 23-37 first-half shots and knocked down eight threes to help lead them to an 83-51 home victory over the Bethel Royals on Saturday.

Augustana never trailed in the win, breaking the lone tie at 2-2 with a Tyler Knuth three to put the team out in front for good. The Vikings' lead quickly reached double figures five minutes in before five straight steals by Staishaun Kelley in a span of just over a minute helped move the advantage out to 15. The scoring onslaught continued for Augie, later seeing a 7-0 run extend an 11-point margin out to 19 at 36-18. Anthony Cooper helped stretch the lead out to nearly 30 later in the half, connecting on four made threes in the final three minutes to bring the team its largest differential of the game at score of 54-25. A late Bethel triple made it a 54-28 lead for Augustana entering the halftime break. As a team, the Vikings hit 8-12 shots from deep and had two players in double figures through 20 minutes.

It was a slow start for Augie to begin the second half, notching just two points through the first seven minutes of action. The Royals inched closer during the span, shrinking the gap down to 18, but a quick 8-0 run halted the momentum and put the Vikings back up by the cushion they began the half with. Ray Maurchie helped the team keep a sizable advantage, scoring eight points over the course of a three-minute span to maintain the 20-plus advantage. A Knuth layup with three minutes remaining moved the lead out to 31 before a couple of successful offensive possessions to close things out brought it to its largest margin of 32 to end the game. 

A total of 10 Vikings found the scoring column in the win, led by Evan Ambrose and Maurchie with 16 points apiece. Colton Gillingham had a balanced showing throughout, finishing next with 15 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds, while Cooper also tallied double figures in points with 14. Kelley shined on defense with seven steals, the most by any CCIW player in a game this season. The team swiped 17 total and forced 22 Bethel turnovers.

As a team, Augustana finished the afternoon at 48 percent overall and 42 percent from deep. Bethel hit just 36 percent of its shots on 18 fewer looks at the basket than Augie.

With the win, the Vikings improve to 8-3 on the season. The team will wrap up the 2024 calendar year and non-conference slate with a road game at No. 17 Wisconsin Lutheran on Tuesday.