Qctimes

QC COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Vikings squander solid start in loss at North Central

N.Kim3 months ago

A great chance to steal a road win in league play bounced away from the Augustana College men’s basketball team Wednesday evening.

Augie had three point-blank shots at a potential tying field goal in the final few seconds, but couldn’t get any to drop, suffering a 61-59 loss to hosting North Central in the CCIW opener for both at Gregory Arena.

It was Augie’s sixth-straight setback as it dropped to 1-6, 0-1.

Making the loss even more difficult on the Vikings is that they had a stellar start and led 18-9 just over eight minutes in. An Andrew Ayeni jumper with 9:56 left in the half gave the Vikings a 22-11 lead, their largest of the contest.

“Obviously, those are tough plays,” said Augie coach Tom Jessee of the frustrating finish that could have forced extra action. “We just didn’t make enough winning plays earlier in the game to win on the road.”

In the final frenzied seconds of the contest, Augie’s Mike Hamilton missed a layup and the tip also bounded off into North Central’s possession.

The Cardinals threw a deep pass down court to no one that Anthony Cooper chased down. After getting the ball to mid-court, Tyler Knuth took a pass and was wide open on the left wing. He drove uncontested to the hoop for a layup that rattled off the rim and out as the horn sounded.

Knuth led the Vikings with a game-high 16 points and Matt Hawkins added 12 in a reserve role. Cooper tossed in seven off the bench.

North Central (3-4, 1-0 CCIW) had 50 of its 61 points accounted for by starters as the Cardinals had just 41 bench minutes compared to Augie’s 88. Ethan Helwig topped the Cardinals with 15 points, Ken Thomas added 14 and Erikas Gurskas tossed in 12.

After taking that double-digit lead in the first half, the Vikings went 3:45 without a bucket as North Central regained its footing and rode that to a 32-26 halftime advantage.

The Vikings, who gave up runs of 7-0 and 6-0 late in the first half, battled back in the second half to again take the lead when Hawkins converted a three-point play with 3:20 left in regulation for a 55-53 advantage.

That was, however, Augie’s final advantage.

Knuth kept things close as he split free throws to pull the Vikings within 58-56 and then on the next possession found the range on a 3-pointer to pull Augie within 60-59 with :27 left.

“This game was a microcosm of our season so far where we’re really playing well in stretches, but we go through periods where we can’t get out of our own way,” said Jessee, whose club plays at Carthage Saturday afternoon. “It’s not through a lack of effort, we just make mistakes at the wrong time.”

Millikin 85, Augustana 48: Hoping to make an early statement in CCIW play, the Augustana College women’s basketball team suffered a tough setback on Wednesday evening.

Led by 2022-23 NCAA Div. III Player of the Year Elyce Knudsen, the defending league champ Millikin Big Blue defended their home court in the Griswold Center with a convincing 85-48 victory.

Leading 46-30 at halftime, Millikin put the contest away in the third quarter with a 30-6 advantage in the frame as the Big Blue moved to 7-0, 1-0 CCIW.

The Vikings had all kinds of issues on the offensive end in the third quarter, committing eight of their 30 turnovers and hitting just 1 of 7 field goal attempts – missing all three 3-point tries.

For the game, the 3-4, 0-1 CCIW Vikings shot just 32.7% (16 of 49) from the field.

Macy Beinborn was Augie’s only double-digit scorer, finishing with 11 points to go with a team-high 10 rebounds. Moline’s Kadence Tatum added 9 points and former Davenport Assumption prep Corey Whitlock added 8.

A pair of former Vikings – Matayia Tellis and Emily Brenneisen – combined for 40 minutes of playing time with Tellis getting a start at a guard position and finishing with 5 points and 3 steals. Brenneisen scored 7 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.

Knudsen, the 2022-23 Josten’s Trophy winner, erupted for 36 points. She made 14 of 18 shots from the field and grabbed 8 rebounds, dished out 5 assists to go with 3 steals. Bailey Coffman added 14 points and Sophie Darden 13.

ONU 105, St. Ambrose 71: The up-tempo style that the Olivet Nazarene Tigers brought to the court Wednesday evening was too much for the St. Ambrose Fighting Bee to hang with.

The hosting Tigers used a fast start to pick up their first Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory of the season, racing to a 63-30 halftime edge. ONU (2-5, 1-1 CCAC) scored 31 first-quarter points and followed with 32.

That was too much for the 0-4, 0-2 Bees who were held to 12 second-quarter points.

Three SAU starters reached double-digit scoring. Abby Wolter led the Bees with 22 points, Caitlyn Thole added 13 and Aryelle King 12. Elly Doe added 9 off the bench.

ONU had five players reach double digits, led by Olivia Dirske’s game-high 23.

Kirkwood 74, Black Hawk 40: The early-season gauntlet continued for the Black Hawk College women's basketball team on Wednesday evening and the trip to Cedar Rapids was a tough one.

Top-ranked and undefeated Kirkwood CC got off to a great start and rode that to a convincing 74-40 victory over the Braves. The Eagles raced to a 24-10 lead after the first quarter and BHC never could get back into it, trailing 41-17 at the half.

Maddie Nonnenmann led the 3-5 Braves with 11 points. Hannah Maher added 8 points to go with her team-high 7 rebounds.

Kirkwood (7-0) had three players reach double-digit scoring. Kaylee Corbin led the Eagles with 18, Demetria Prewitt added 17 and Lizzy Puot added 15 off the bench.

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