ELMHURST, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team will begin a stretch of three straight games within the CCIW on Wednesday, December 4 when they visit the Elmhurst Bluejays.

Augustana sits at 4-1 on the season and is receiving votes for the second straight week in the D3hoops.com top 25 poll. The team is coming off a close 60-57 victory over Hamline on Saturday, using a last-second three-point play by Staishaun Kelley with 1.6 seconds remaining to seal the win. Augustana led for the entirety of the first half, scoring the game's first nine points within the first 3:13 of the contest. Hamline continued to hover around that margin before a three-pointer from Nicolas Giliberto gave the Vikings their first double-digit lead of around the 11-minute mark. Augie shot 42 percent through the first 20 minutes and had nine different players score points on its way to a 32-20 advantage. Hamline finished the opening half 8-23 from the floor and 0-6 from three-point range. 

The visitors continued to inch closer in the second, cutting the deficit to seven three different instances, with the latest coming at 9:04. From there, the Vikings rattled off six points in a row to bring the score to 50-37 and force a Hamline timeout The Pipers came out of the timeout with the game's next 10 points to create a one-possession contest with six minutes remaining. A layup from Colton Gillingham halted the momentum, but Hamline finally caught up and grabbed its first lead of the game at 57-56 with 1:14 showing on the clock. Kelley hit one of two free throws on the next possession to even the score and the Augie defense forced a shotclock violation to get the ball back with 26 seconds left. Out of a timeout, Evan Ambrose took a drive into the left side of the lane and fired up a running hook shot that fell into the hands of Kelley crashing weak side, who put it into the basket through contact and a foul. Kelley converted the three-point play and a half court heave by the Pipers fell off the mark to allow Augustana to escape with the three-point win. As a team, Augustana forced 17 turnovers, with 21 points coming off those Hamline miscues.

Elmhurst enters Wednesday's matchup with a 3-3 overall record and has lost two of its last three after beginning the year with a 2-1 mark. The Bluejays fell in their most recent outing to Concordia-Chicago on Saturday by a score of 82-67 after being out-scored in the first half 45-29. The team had three players reach double figures in scoring and was led by Tagen Pearson's 18 points on 7-16 shooting. Pearson ranks second on the team wit 15.5 points per game, while Dominic Trelenberg is the Elmhurst leader at 16.2 per contest. The Bluejays are a perfect 3-0 on their home court this season with all three victories coming by double-digits. Elmhurst defeated St. Mary's (Minn.) last time out at home back on November 26 by a score of 82-68. Pearson had 30 points to lead the Bluejays in the win.

Wednesday will be the 153rd all-time meeting between the two programs, with Augustana leading the series 99-53. Elmhurst has won seven of the last eight meetings and both last season. Augie will be seeking its first win at Elmhurst since 2019.

Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m.