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Augustana College Athletics

Schedule

All Events
Cam Atkinson
Riley Vu
93
North Central (IL) NCC 5-11,1-6 CCIW
98
Winner Augustana (IL) AUGIE 8-7,3-3 CCIW
North Central (IL) NCC
5-11,1-6 CCIW
93
Final
98
Augustana (IL) AUGIE
8-7,3-3 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
North Central (IL) NCC 47 46 93
Augustana (IL) AUGIE 55 43 98

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Basketball picks up win against the Cardinals

Rock Island – It may have been cold outside, but things were heating up inside the Roy J. Carver Center as Augustana overcame an early deficit to defeat North Central 98-93 in a thrilling CCIW matchup.

The visitors grabbed the lead from the opening tip, capitalizing on unusual miscues by the Viking starting five to take a 20-13 advantage. Trailing at the 14:21 mark, the Vikings responded with an 11-4 run to tie the game, capped by Dom Rhoden's three-pointer from beyond the arc. Augustana took its first lead of the night on a Jake Willems layup with 5:51 left in the first half, then made it a two-possession game with Eli Aldana's three from the top of the key. After another Aldana trey pushed the lead to six, the Augie defense locked in, fueled by a roaring home crowd. The offense caught fire in the final five minutes of the half, draining five three-pointers to race out to a 55-47 halftime lead, thanks to a dominant 67.7% shooting from the field (21-31) and 77.8% from three (7-9).

After the break, both teams traded early baskets before North Central made its push. The Cardinals forced a timeout at the 15:52 mark after hitting a fadeaway three to tie the game, part of a 10-3 run. They later built a seven-point lead with another 10-3 spurt.

The Vikings answered back. Aldana drilled a triple to cut the deficit to four, and Augustana continued to chip away, tying the score at 82-82 with 8:50 remaining as Atkinson and Willems traded buckets. The final lead change came at the 4:01 mark on a Ray Maurchie layup that put Augie ahead 90-88.

With 2:07 to play, Atkinson drew a shooting foul and connected on both free throws to give the Vikings the lead for good. Caden Workman added a crucial fast-break layup to push the advantage to four, helping seal the 98-93 victory as the Vikings outscored North Central 14-9 off turnovers and dominated fast-break points 17-3.

Four Vikings reached double figures, led by Atkinson's 24 points. Aldana added 19 points, going 5-of-6 from three-point range. The bench played a major role, contributing 51 points in the win. Augustana finished 13-20 from the free-throw line, grabbed 29 rebounds, and forced 11 turnovers. The Vikings improve to 8-7 on the season, and 3-3 in CCIW play. 

The Vikings return to action on Saturday, January 17, hosting Carroll in the second game of an afternoon twinbill. Tip-off is set for 4:15 p.m. at the Carver Center.
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