CINCINNATI, Ohio – Hunter Hill (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.) scored 12 points in the first seven minutes of the second half Sunday to spark a 71-57 Augustana come-from-behind win over host Mount St. Joseph at the Tip-Off Classic. The third-ranked Vikings improved to 2-0, while the Lions dropped to 1-1.
Augustana trailed 36-35 at halftime and MSJ's Joel Scudder scored the first basket of the second half to put the Lions up 38-35. A pair of Femi Thompson free throws extended the advantage to 40-35 before Hill got going. Scoreless to that point, he quickly erased the deficit with back-to-back three-pointers 30 seconds apart. Mark Allen's conventional three-point play briefly regained the lead for the hosts, but a pair of Hill free throws tied it at 43. A Jawan Straughter (Plainfield East HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.) layup at the 15:53 mark gave Augustana the lead for good at 45-43. Ben Ryan (Washington HS, Washington, Ill.) and Nic Hoepfner (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) each had a field goal before Hill added two more free throws to complete a 16-3 run that gave the Vikings a 51-43 lead with 13:47 to play.
Consecutive baskets by Ryan gave Augustana its first double-digit lead, 57-46 with 9:31 left, and MSJ would not get it under double digits the rest of the way. Two more Hill free throws were the last points of the contest and the final margin equaled the Vikings' biggest of the game.
Five points by Ryan (Washington HS, Washington, Ill.) and a bucket by Hoepfner gave Augustana an early 7-2 lead, but five different Lions scored in a 14-3 run which included four three-pointers and gave MSJ its biggest lead of the game at 16-10.
The visitors found themselves battling from behind for the rest of the half. They achieved ties at 31-all and 34-all on a Danielius Jurgutis (Downers Grove South HS, Darien, Ill.) basket and a Mark Roth (Washington HS, Metamora, Ill.) three-pointer, respectively, but could never regain the lead. Senior Kevin Schlitter (Maine South HS, Park Ridge, Ill.) split a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one at the break.
Ryan led the Vikings with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. Hill—who was named to the All-Classic team—finished with 14 points, all of which came after halftime. Hoepfner also finished in double figures with 11. Straughter and junior Griffin Pils (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.), who again gave Augustana a big lift off the bench, added seven points each. Ken Kunkel led the Lions with 15 points.
The Vikings shot .510 (26-51) from the field, .417 (5-12) from three-point range and .737 (14-19) from the free throw line. Coach Grey Giovanine's club held MSJ to .388 (19-49) shooting from the floor, including just .316 (6-19) in the second half. The Lions hit nine of 23 (.391) three-pointers, but just one of six after intermission. The Vikings also won the rebound battle 33-25 and committed just nine turnovers to 13 for the Mount.
Next weekend, Augustana will be in action just across the Ohio River in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. The Vikings will be competing at Thomas More College's Coach Jim Connor Classic. They'll face the host Saints at 6:30 p.m. central time on Friday, November 21 and the Rust Bearcats on Saturday, November 22 at 1:00 p.m. central time.