Box ScoreAugustana shot 54 percent from the field and then held Illinois Tech to 4 field goals in the second half as the Vikings routed the Scarlet Hawks 94-41 in the Sioux Valley Clinic Holiday Classic Wednesday night at the Elmen Center.
Augustana improved to 11-2 on the season as the Vikings won their third-straight game and their 10th game in their last 11 outings. Meanwhile, Illinois Tech fell to 3-12.
The Vikings fell behind early at 8-4 in the first 4 minutes, but they didn't trail for long. Augustana outscored the Scarlet Hawks 18-3 over the next 8 mintes to take a 22-11 lead with 9:52 left in the half.
After Illinois Tech scored 5 unanswered points to trim the deficit to 22-16 with 7:46 on the clock, the Vikings scored 10 straight points to regain control at 32-16 with 5:36 remaining in the half. Augie then used a 12-0 run to close out the half to take a 47-21 halftime lead.
The Vikings then put the game away at the outset of the second half. Augustana outscored Illinois Tech 19-6 in the first 6:30 to increase the gap to 66-27.
After that, Rob Knapczyk drained a 3-pointer for Illinois Tech at the 13:03 mark. That would be the Scarlet Hawks' last field goal until Wes Klockowski's layup with 7 seconds left in the game.
The Vikings made 37 of 68 field goals, including 19 of 34 (56 percent) in the first half. Meanwhile, Illinois Tech converted only 13 of 43 (30 percent) for the game.
Joey Ryan and
Ian Thomas led 5 Vikings in double figures with 14 points apiece. Ryan scored 12 of his points in the first half.
David Foster and
Eric Krogman came off the bench to score 13 and 12 points. The final double figure scorer was
Nick Olson, who finished with 11 points. Along the way, he became the 25th player in Viking history to score 1,000 career points. He now has 1,009 career points.
Klockowski led Illinois Tech with 11 points off the bench.
Augustana will entertain Upper Iowa in an 8 p.m. game Thursday night to conclude the Sioux Valley Clinic Holiday Classic. Illinois Tech will face South Dakota in a 3 p.m. contest.
