Rock Island, Ill., November 22, 2010 – No. 24 ranked Augustana College broke open a tie game with a 22-7 run to end the first half as the Vikings remained unbeaten with a 78-55 victory over No. 20 ranked Washington University in St. Louis on Monday night at the Roy J. Carver Arena in Rock Island, Ill.

Senior Spencer Gay scored in double figures for the third time the season with 16 points, while freshman Tim Cooney added a career-high 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting at the foul line. The Bears shot 37.3 percent (19-51) in the loss, and were outrebounded, 42-26.

Chris Anderson led the Vikings with a game-high 20 points, while Kyle Nelson (18 points), Brian DeSimone (11 points) and Bryant Voiles (10 points) all scored in double figures for Augustana, which improved to 2-0. The Vikings shot 48.2 percent (27-56) from the field and 94.4 percent (17-18) from the foul line in the victory.

After starting slow by missing their first five shots of the game, the Bears finally got things going offensively. Sophomore Ben Hoener ignited an 11-2 run with a jumper as Washington University took a 15-9 advantage with 12:53 left in the first half. The Bears drilled all five of their shots during the 11-2 run, and at one point made seven-straight shots from the field.

Tied at 20-20, the Vikings ended the half on a 22-7 run to take a 42-27 lead to the locker room. Washington U. shot 37 percent (10-27) from the field in the first half, while Augustana shot a blistering 53.3 percent (16-30). Anderson (13 points) and Nelson (12 points) each scored in double figures for Augie, who outrebounded Washington U., 22-10.

The Viking opened the second half by scoring seven of the first 10 points to take a 49-30 with 17:29 remaining. A three-pointer by sophomore Max Needle trimmed the lead to 55-44, but that would be as close as the Bears would get in the final 10 minutes.

Washington University (2-2) concludes its five-game road trip at Hanover College on Sunday, Nov. 28. Game time is set for 3 p.m. (ET), in Hanover, Ind.