ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's basketball team will play its first postseason home game in six years on Tuesday, February 25 when they welcome the Elmhurst Bluejays in the CCIW Quarterfinals.

Augustana ended the regular season with a 16-9 overall record and 9-7 mark in the CCIW, good for a tie for third place in the league. The Vikings have won six of their last seven contests and their last six inside the Carver Center dating back to January 29. The team is coming off an 85-76 win on Saturday in the regular season finale over No. 11 Illinois Wesleyan, a victory that clinched them the No. 4 seed in the CCIW Tournament the first postseason game in the Carver Center since hosting in the NCAA Tournament in March of 2019. 

In the win over the Titans, recently-announced First Team All-CCIW selection Tyler Knuth collected the first 12 points of the contest for the Vikings and helped them build a five-point advantage after four minutes of action. Illinois Wesleyan hung around within a single possession over the course of the next two minutes, but Augie broke away with a 10-0 run that saw points from five different players. The Titans closed the half on a 13-5 run to make it a 45-39 lead for Augustana at the break. Knuth posted 17 points in the first half and the Vikings hit 53 percent of their shots. Illinois Wesleyan shot over 53 percent from both the field and behind the three-point line through 20 minutes, but Augie held a plus-six advantage at the free throw line to make up the difference.

A basket by the Titans on the open possession of the second got them within four before a triple around 17 minutes shrunk the gap to just three at 49-46. Ray Maurchie accounted for the next five points for Augie to keep the visitors out of striking distance and the Vikings maintained a two-possession lead approaching the halfway point of the second half. A Matt Hawkins basket with 10:31 to go gave Augie its largest differential of the second half and the lead never dipped below five the rest of the way. The two teams traded baskets down the stretch, with a late run by the Titans erasing a 10-point deficit and putting the score at 76-70 with 1:50 showing on the clock. Nicolas Giliberto halted the momentum for the visitors with a made jumper and the Vikings hit seven free throws the rest of the way to hang on for the win.

Both teams saw their hot shooting from the first half go away in the second, with each shooting below 40 percent overall and under 20 percent from deep. Knuth ended with a game-high 23 points for the Vikings, while Second Team All-Conference honoree Evan Ambrose and Hawkins each added 13. Knuth also moved into 12th on the all-time scoring list for Augustana and into third for most threes made in a single season. Cooper finished in double figures with 11, while Maurchie narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. 

Elmhurst enters Tuesday's quarterfinal matchup after finishing the regular season with an 11-14 overall mark and 7-9 conference record. The Bluejays lost three of their last four to close out the season, including losses in each of their last two games. In their most recent matchup vs. Carroll on Saturday, the Bluejays fell by a score of 83-68. Elmhurst trailed by 12 after 20 minutes of action and could not catch back up in a high-scoring second half. Tagen Pearson, the team's leading scorer this season, put up 18 in the loss for the Bluejays, while Dominic Trelenberg added 12. Both were announced to the CCIW's All-Conference list on Monday.

Augustana leads the all-time series 101-53 over Elmhurst, which includes wins in both of the earlier-season meetings. The Vikings bested the Bluejays in Rock Island back on February 13 by a score of 60-58. Knuth had 18 in the win, while Ambrose added 12.

Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Admission Details

• Adults - $10 
• Seniors (65+), Students and Children ages 6-14 - $5 
• Children ages 5 and under - Free
• Current CCIW students upon presentation of a current CCIW ID - Free. 
• Any CCIW student without an ID must pay the $5 student rate.
• No passes accepted.

Any media must contact the Augustana Athletics Communications office to inquire about entry.