Last-Second Shot Lifts Top-Ranked Vikings Past Titans

Hunter Hill and Ben Ryan combined for 45 points as the top-ranked Augustana College (Ill.) men's basketball team held UW-Oshkosh without a shot on the final possession of the game and hung on for a 67-65 win on Tuesday (Dec. 29) in Wisconsin Dells.

Hill hit three contested jump shots in the final 139 seconds, including a fade-away with a hand in his face that broke a tie at 65 with 2.7 ticks remaining.

Following a pair of timeouts, Augustana College trapped Titan Ben Boots, whose desperation heave near midcourt was off the mark and after the final buzzer.

Hill, who scored eight of the last nine Viking points, sank a jump shot with the shot clock winding down for a 63-58 Viking lead, but UW-Oshkosh's Max Schebel answered quickly with a layup at the 1:57 mark.

Titan Charlie Noone took a charge outside the 3-point arc on the ensuing possession, and another basket by Schebel cut the Augustana College lead to 63-62 with one minute to play.

Hill, who led all players with 28 points on 11 of 15 shooting from the floor, drilled a pullup jumper to push the Viking lead back to 65-62, but Boots knotted the score at 65 on a 3-pointer with 21 seconds to go.

Augustana College (10-0), which advanced to the title game of last season's NCAA Division III Championship, entered the contest as the unanimous top-ranked team in the country by D3hoops.com.

The Vikings shot 45.1 percent (23-51) from the field, including 52.2 percent (12-23) during the second half. Augustana College, which held a 30-25 rebounding advantage, converted 17 of 21 (81 percent) free throws. UW-Oshkosh was limited to just 5 of 7 shooting (71.4 percent) from the charity stripe.

Ben Ryan added 17 points for the Vikings on 7 of 11 shooting from the field.

UW-Oshkosh (6-4) ended the game shooting 49.1 percent (26-53) from the floor, including 55.6 percent (15-27) in the first half. The Titans hit 6 of 7 shots from beyond the 3-point line during the first period and concluded the game 8 of 16 (50 percent) from long range.

Alex Olson paced UW-Oshkosh with 18 points, while Boots and Noone contributed 13 and 10 points, respectively.

The teams combined to commit just 13 turnovers, including only six by UW-Oshkosh.

A 3-pointer by Hill gave the Vikings a 7-2 early lead, and Augustana College didn't trail until Olson hit a 3-pointer for a 19-17 UW-Oshkosh advantage midway through the first half.

Augustana College tallied nine consecutive points for a 28-21 advantage on a 3-pointer by Hill at the 5:44 mark. The Vikings then opened up their largest lead of eight points at 31-23 on another 3-pointer by Hill with five minutes left in the first half.

UW-Oshkosh responded with eight unanswered points to knot the score at 31 on a 3-pointer by Noone, and the Titans went into halftime with a 36-34 advantage.

Augustana College built a 47-42 lead following a pair of free throws by Jacob Johnston with 15:32 remaining. A layup by Brett Wittchow trimmed UW-Oshkosh's deficit to 47-44, but the Titans went scoreless for nearly five minutes as the Vikings extended their lead to 50-44 with 10 minutes to go.

A pair of free throws by Boots put UW-Oshkosh ahead, 55-54, at the 6:50 mark, but a basket by Hill gave the Vikings a 60-58 edge with just under four minutes remaining.

In last season's Division III title game, Augustana College lost a 70-54 decision to UW-Stevens Point. This season the Vikings have now defeated four WIAC teams – UW-La Crosse (88-60), UW-Oshkosh, 19th-ranked UW-Stevens Point (81-58) and 20th-ranked UW-Whitewater (75-55).

UW-Oshkosh concludes its trip to Wisconsin Dells by taking on Carroll University on Wednesday (Dec. 30).