RICK HARRIGAN DROPS 23 ON NUMBER ONE RANKED ILLINOIS WESLEYAN AS AUGUSTANA WINS 77-76
Augustana survived an incredible second half shooting display to hand number one ranked Illinois Wesleyan its second loss in our days. The Vikings won a gritty 77-76 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin victory over the Titans before a packed house at the Carver PE Center on Saturday night.
Rick Harrigan scored a game high 23 points, connecting on nine of 16 from the floor, including five of nine from three point range to lead the Augustana effort. It was Harrigan’s three pointer with 2:48 left in the game that gave the Vikings the lead for good at 72-32. His driving layup at 1:18 made it 77-74. Augustana survived a wild finish after Adam Dauksas, who led Wesleyan in scoring with 21, made a tough basket with :46 left cut things to 77-76.
With the shot clock winding down, Jay McAdams-Thornton missed a shot with nine seconds to play and the Titans Cory Jones pulled down the rebound and was fouled by Travis Hoyt. Jones missed the front end of the one and one and McAdams-Thornton grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled. He missed the free throw and Zach Freeman grabbed the errant toss. Dauksas drove for the winning basket but his shot fell short and time ran out giving Augustana its second home court victory over a number one ranked team in the last four years. During the 2000-01 season the Vikings beat Carthage when the Redmen were the top team in the nation.
Augustana led early 11-3, erasing the memory of the last two games against Illinois Wesleyan when the Vikings trailed by margins of 28-3 and 29-4. The score was tied 33-33 at halftime and in the second half it was knotted a total of 11 times. During the last 20 minutes the Titans made 10 of their first 12 shots from the floor and wound up shooting .679 (19-28) from field in the second half. The 15 offensive rebounds pulled down by Augustana were crucial to the win.
Joe Baumann had 13 points and McAdams-Thornton 12, while leading the team with nine rebounds as Augustana held a 34-30 advantage on the boards. Hoyt scored just seven points but had a team high seven assists.
Wesleyan put four players in double figures with Keelan Amelianovich scoring 16, Zach Freeman 13 and Jones 11. Jones also pulled down a game high 11 rebounds.
Augustana is now 14-7 overall and 6-4 in the CCIW while the Titans fall to 16-4 and 7-2 in league play.