The Augustana Vikings (25-3) proved to be strong contenders for the NCAA national championship after their 93-67 first round win over Aurora University (17-12).
With the help of the home crowd at the Carver Center, the Vikings kept their lead the entire game. The largest Augustana lead was by 37 points.
Three-pointers played a major role in the Vikings’ victory. Senior captain Nolan Ebel (13 points) started off the game with a three-pointer, with senior Brett Benning following suit a minute later.
There were 10 total three-point baskets made in the first half by the Vikings and zero three-pointers made by the Spartans. Ebel said how the crowd’s excitement early on allowed the team to build momentum.
“It makes you feel really good when the crowd gets involved. We do everything we can to get them going early,” Ebel said. “Brett [Benning] and other guys hitting big shots early got the crowd fired up and then we feed off that energy and carry that on the rest of the game.”
Benning was Augustana’s lead scorer of the night with 21 points. He made a total of 5 three-point baskets, including one at the buzzer to end the first half. Overall, the Vikings made 14 three-pointers compared to Aurora’s five.
Benning talked about how creating this strong lead from the beginning boosted the team’s confidence.
“That’s something we want to focus on, jumping on [the other team] early because a couple times this year, we’ve gone down about 10 points early and then have to fight back,” Benning said. “We want to avoid that and set the tone early and our game early.”
The Vikings led 60-29 at the half, a rare margin for only a first half. It took the Spartans until 3:42 in the second half to reach 60 points.
Augustana’s bench saw more time than the starters in the second half. Big contributors were sophomore Carson Frakes (9 points, 6 rebounds) and junior Lucas Simon (7 points).
The Spartans outscored Augustana in the second half 38-33, but the closest they got to surpassing the Vikings was by 23 points.
The Vikings move on to their second round matchup against Capital University (21-7) on Saturday, March 2 at 7 p.m. in the Carver Center.
Capital’s first round game against the University of Wisconsin-Platteville went into overtime, which they won 78-76. They play a physical game, but this is something that Augustana is used to.
“We’re going to prepare just like any other two-day tournament that we’ve done all year and the past four years,” Ebel said. “We’re going to prepare well and come in trying to win.”
The second round game will decide which team will play in the Sweet 16 the following Friday, location and time undetermined.
Photo courtesy of Maria Do
Caption: Brett Benning (’19) makes a three-point shot during the Vikings’ 93-67 first round win against Aurora 93. The Vikings advance to Saturday’s game against Capital University on Saturday, March 2 at Carver Center.