VIKINGS PLACE FIVE IN DOUBLE FIGURES TO BEAT NINTH RANKED WHEATON
ROCK ISLAND, Illinois – Augustana put five players in double figures during an 83-76 victory over Wheaton that kept the Vikings in the hunt for second place in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. Rick Harrigan led the way with 21 points as Augustana moved to 17-7 overall and 9-4 in the league. Jay McAdams-Thornton dropped in 15, Travis Hoyt scored 14, Joe Baumann had 13, and Pat Brusveen contributed 10. The game was tied 11-11 with 12:27 left in the first half when the Vikings went on a 15-3 run that gave them a 26-14 lead with 6:49 to go. At halftime the lead was eight (41-33) and with 13:31 left in the game the advantage had ballooned to 17 (59-42) after a free throw from Matt Salisbury. Wheaton, behind the 29 points from Jonathan Steven and an 11 of 12 free throw performance from Kent Raymond, clawed back in it and with 2:03 to play had the lead down to six points (79-73). Drew Wessels made a pair of free throws with :47 left to bump the advantage to eight (81-73) and McAdams-Thornton made two more at :37 to jump the lead to 10 (83-73). Steven tossed in a three pointer with six seconds left to account for the final margin. Hoyt led Augustana in rebounding with nine as the Vikings enjoyed a slim 38-35 lead in that department. Wheaton, which came into the game ranked ninth in the latest D3hoops.com poll, fell to 19-5 overall and 9-4 in the CCIW.