Jacob Johnston scored 15 points for Augustana.
Jacob Johnston scored 15 points for Augustana.
Augustana College fell just short in its quest for a first national championship in NCAA Division III men’s basketball recently, falling to Babson College by a score of 79-78.
A 3-pointer by the Vikings’ Jacob Johnston brought Augustana to within a point of Babson with 10 seconds left, but Babson’s Joey Flannery sealed the victory when he blocked a layup by Augustana’s Nolan Ebel.
The Vikings finished the year with a record of 24-9.
Augustana advanced to the final game after a 90-79 win over Williams College. The Vikings have lost in the finals twice since 2015.
A 6-foot-1-inch sophomore, Ebel scored 20 points and had five assists to lead the Vikings. He also tallied seven rebounds. Johnston picked up 15 points; Chrishawn Orange, 14; and Brett Benning, 11. Dylan Sortillo led the team with nine rebounds, also scoring eight points. And freshman Micah Martin picked up six points, five blocked shots and seven rebounds.
The Vikings outpaced Babson in rebounds, 35-30, but the Vikings turned the ball over 10 times compared with four for Babson.
Augustana shot 47 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point distance and 74 percent at the foul line.
Both Ebel and Orange made the all-tournament team.
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