Vikings finish 29-2; equal most wins in school history and most ever by a CCIW program; ranked first in the nation for nine weeks; claim second straight CCIW regular season and tournament titles; Hunter Hill and Ben Ryan earn All-America recognition
 
Coach Grey Giovanine's Augustana men's basketball squad finished a remarkable 2015-16 season with a 29-2 record, equaling the most wins in school history (matching the 1972-73 team), as well as the most ever posted by a CCIW program. The Vikings' quest for a second straight final four appearance ended with an NCAA quarterfinal loss to eventual champion St. Thomas, but the team won CCIW regular season and tournament titles for the second year in a row and spent nine weeks atop the D3hoops.com Top 25. In addition, eight seniors leave a legacy as one of the most accomplished classes—both individually and collectively—in school history.
 
In four years, Hunter Hill (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.), Ben Ryan (Washington HS, Washington, Ill.), Tayvian Johnson (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.), Griffin Pils (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.), Brandon Motzel (Carmel HS, Buffalo Grove, Ill.), Jawan Straughter (Plainfield East HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.), Jake Gylten (Iowa City West HS, North Liberty, Iowa) and Jake Norcia (Highland Park HS, Highland Park, Ill.) helped lead the program to a record of 95-23 (.805), two CCIW regular season championships, two conference tournament titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a second-place finish in 2015. The 56 wins in 2014-15 (27) and 2015-16 (29) are the most ever in consecutive seasons at Augustana.
 
The top-ranked Vikings opened the season with an 88-60 win over eventual Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champion UW-La Crosse. After an 80-57 win at Fontbonne, the team started at 11-day stretch that included three games against programs that owned eight of the previous 12 national championships. Augustana prevailed in all three, sandwiching road wins over UW-Whitewater (75-55) and Washington University (70-67) around an 81-58 home win over defending national champion UW-Stevens Point. By the end of the 2015 calendar year, the Vikings were 11-0.
 
The team's lone CCIW setback occurred on January 6 at Elmhurst, when the Bluejays won 77-75 in overtime. However, Augustana bounced back to win its final 12 league games and claim the CCIW regular season title at 13-1. Included in that stretch were 76-49 and 76-68 wins over North Central—the Cardinals' only two conference losses this year—and a 97-84 victory in the rematch with Elmhurst.
 
The Vikings won their second straight CCIW Tournament championship and Augustana's fifth in the 11-year history of the event with wins over Illinois Wesleyan (83-74 in OT) and Elmhurst (69-53) at Carver Center.
 
Augustana, which had climbed back to the number one ranking five weeks after the Elmhurst loss, was back at home for NCAA Tournament. The Vikings handled Westminster (Mo.) 105-52 in the first round and downed ninth-ranked Hope 96-80 to advance to the sectional rounds.
 
An 88-65 win over 25th-ranked Emory in the sectional semifinals set up a showdown with eighth-ranked St. Thomas at Carver Center for a trip to the final four. The Tommies used a 12-0 run midway through the second half to pull in front and solid free throw shooting down the stretch to claim an 86-76 win. St. Thomas went on to win the national title, as Augustana was eliminated by the eventual champion for the third straight year, in its fifth straight appearance and for the 11th time in 15 NCAA Division III Tournament trips all-time.
 
Hill (14.3 ppg, .416 3p%, .898 ft%, 111 ast, 30 stl), who was a consensus first team All-American and Central Region Player of the Year, led the Vikings in scoring, assists, free throw percentage and three-point field goals (52) this year. Ryan (14.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg, .561 fg%, .726 ft%), a D3hoops.com second team All-American and NABC first team all-region selection, finished right behind Hill in scoring and was Augustana's leading rebounder for the third year in a row. Both were first team All-CCIW selections and Hill was named the league's Most Outstanding Player for the second straight year—joining John Laing as the Vikings' only multiple winners of the award.
 
Motzel (8.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, .632 fg%, 35 blk, 25 stl) was a second team All-CCIW pick and Straughter (6.8 ppg, .413 3p%, 76 ast, 26 stl), the team's top perimeter defender, was named to the third team. Pils (8.5 ppg, .361 3p%, .855 ft%, 77 ast, 35 stl) rounded out the starting lineup with Johnson (8.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, .631 fg%, 22 blk, 38 stl) filling the sixth man role. Motzel led the team in blocked shots and Johnson in steals and they posted the second and third-best field goal percentages, respectively, in school history.
 
Giovanine's rotation also included sophomore Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) (5.9 ppg, .449 3p%), who led the Vikings in three-point percentage, freshmen Chrishawn Orange (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) (4.9 ppg, .353 3p%) and Pierson Wofford (Springfield Lutheran HS, Springfield, Ill.) (4.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg, .574 fg%), juniors Jacob Johnston (Erie HS, Cordova, Ill.) (4.2 ppg, .507 fg%, .350 3p%) and Michael Hoekstra (Bishop McNamara HS, Saint Anne, Ill.) 2.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, .656 fg%), as well as Gylten (1.3 ppg, 0.9 rpg, .538 fg%, .733 ft%).
 
During their careers, Ryan and Johnson played in more games (118) and more victories (95) than anyone else in school history and Ryan's 117 career starts are a school record as well. Both, along with Hill, went over 1,000 career points—just the third trio from the same class to do so. Laing, Mark Brooks and Chuck Menzer (class of 1973) and Craig Brittnum, Shane Price and Maxwell Artis (class of 1982) were the others. Ryan finished sixth in Viking history with 1,371 points—10 more than Hill, who finished seventh all-time. Johnson passed 1,000 in his final collegiate game, closing his career at 1,007 and joining Ryan as just the 10th and 11th players in school history with over 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
 
Ryan ended up fifth in school history in rebounds (793) and field goals (569). Hill is the career record holder for free throw percentage (.893) and ranks third all-time in three-point field goals (157) and free throws (392) made, tied for fourth in games played (111) and eighth in free throw attempts (439).
 
Only Ryan and Johnson played more games in a Viking uniform all-time than Pils (113), who also ranks 10th with a career mark of .829 from the free throw line. Motzel ended up fourth in school history in career field goal percentage (.582) and blocked shots (86). Johnson is fourth all-time in steals (140) and fifth in blocked shots (79). Blocked shots and steals have been compiled since the 1979-80 season. Straughter ended up tied for eighth all-time in games played with 108.
 
 
2015-16 CCIW MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS

TEAM	CCIW	W-L	PCT	Overall	W-L	PCT
AUGUSTANA		13-1	.929		29-2	.935
North Central		12-2	.857		19-8	.704
Elmhurst		10-4	.714		22-7	.759
Illinois Wesleyan		7-7	.500		13-13	.500
North Park		6-8	.429		14-11	.560
Carthage		4-10	.286		10-15	.400
Millikin		3-11	.214		9-16	.360
Wheaton		1-13	.071		5-20	.200

 
2016 CCIW Tournament
Carver Center-Augustana College-Rock Island, Illinois
 
Semifinals—Friday, February 26
(3) Elmhurst 60, (2) North Central 58
(1) AUGUSTANA 83, (4) Illinois Wesleyan 74 (OT)
 
Championship—Saturday, February 27
(1) AUGUSTANA 69, (3) Elmhurst 53
 
2015-16 AUGUSTANA SUPERLATIVES
CCIW TOURNAMENT: Won fifth championship in tournament's 11-year history... Only school to qualify for every CCIW Tournament.
D3HOOPS.COM NATIONAL RANKING: 3rd in final poll... Ranked in all 14 polls... Ranked first for nine weeks.
D3HOOPS.COM ALL-AMERICA: Hunter Hill (1st team); Ben Ryan (2nd team)
NABC ALL-AMERICA: Hunter Hill (1st team)
HERO SPORTS ALL-AMERICA: Hunter Hill (1st team)
NABC ALL-CENTRAL REGION: Hunter Hill (1st team—Player of the Year); Ben Ryan (1st team)
D3HOOPS.COM ALL-CENTRAL REGION: Hunter Hill (1st team—Player of the Year); Ben Ryan (2nd team)
CCIW ALL-CONFERENCE: Hunter Hill (1st team—Player of the Year); Ben Ryan (1st team); Brandon Motzel (2nd team); Jawan Straughter (3rd team)
CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA: Ben Ryan (3rd team)
CCIW ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE: Jake Gylten, Michael Hoekstra, Jacob Johnston, Joe Kellen, Brandon Motzel, Ben Ryan.
CCIW TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS: Scoring Offense—81.4 ppg; Scoring Defense—66.9 ppg; Scoring Margin—+14.4 ppg; Field goal Percentage—.495; Rebounding Defense—30.9 rpg.
CCIW INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS: Field Goal Percentage—.656, Tayvian Johnson; Offensive Rebounds—2.86 rpg, Ben Ryan.
NCAA TOP TEN TEAM RANKINGS: Field Goal Percentage—.507 (2nd); Scoring Margin—+17.5 ppg (4th); Free Throws Made—541 (7th); Free Throws Attempted—753 (8th); Rebound Margin—+8.3 (8th);
NCAA TOP 25 INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS: Free Throw Percentage—.898, Hunter Hill (13th).
TEAM SCHOOL RECORD: Free Throws Made—541.
SINGLE-SEASON AUGUSTANA TOP TEN: Field Goal Percentage—.632, Brandon Motzel (2nd), .631—Tayvian Johnson (3rd); Free Throw Percentage—.898, Hunter Hill (3rd); Games Played—31, Ben Ryan, Griffin Pils, Chrishawn Orange; Hunter Hill, Tayvian Johnson (T-6th).
CAREER AUGUSTANA TOP TEN: Points—1,371, Ben Ryan (6th), 1,361, Hunter Hill (7th); Field Goals—569, Ben Ryan (5th)); Field Goal Percentage—.582, Brandon Motzel (4th); 3-point Field Goals—157, Hunter Hill (3rd); 3-point Field Goal Attempts—375, Hunter Hill (4th); 3-point Field Goal Percentage—.422, Dylan Sortillo (8th); Free Throws—392, Hunter Hill (3rd); Free Throw Attempts—439, Hunter Hill (8th); Free Throw Percentage—.893, Hunter Hill (1st), .829, Griffin Pils (10th); Rebounds—793, Ben Ryan (5th); Blocked Shots—86, Brandon Motzel (4th), 79, Tayvian Johnson (5th); Blocked Shots Per Game—0.84, Brandon Motzel (5th); Steals—140, Tayvian Johnson (4th); Games Played—118, Ben Ryan & Tayvian Johnson (T-1st), 113, Griffin Pils (3rd); 111, Hunter Hill (T-4th), 108, Jawan Straughter (T-8th).
 
2015-16 MEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS
Most Outstanding Player: Hunter Hill & Ben Ryan
Best Rebounder: Ben Ryan
Best Defender: Jawan Straughter
J.V. MVP: Pierson Wofford