ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Turnovers and poor shooting doomed the Elmhurst men's basketball team's quest to capture it's first CCIW Tournament Championship as the Bluejays fell 69-53 to top-ranked Augustana College.

Elmhurst (21-6) struggled for the entire first half, digging themselves a 20-point deficit at the half. The Bluejays hit just 4-of-16 shots in the half and committed 17 turnovers, resulting in 17 points for Augustana (26-1). Both teams struggled to get into rhythm as a combined 27 fouls were called in the first half (15 on Elmhurst), resulting in 29 free throws.

The Bluejays grabbed a 2-0 lead after a pair of free throws from Pat Coleman just one minute into the contest. Elmhurst had its last lead of the contest three minutes into the half after Will Nixon hit a bucket. Augustana took over, scoring the next 21 points over the next 9:30 of action, to open up a 23-4 cushion while the Bluejays struggled. The Bluejays trimmed the deficit down to 11 points with four minutes remaining in the half, but the Vikings closed the half with a 13-4 run to carry a 39-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Vikings continued to pull away in the second half, opening up a 28-point cushion less than five minutes into the half. Augustana led 60-32 with 8:40 remaining before Elmhurst closed with a 21-9 run to make the final score 69-53 in favor of the Vikings.

Elmhurst, ranked 17th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, finished the contest shooting just 32.6 percent (14-of-43) from the floor and was ice cold from three-point distance, hitting just 1-of-15 attempts (6.7 percent). The Bluejays' shooting percentage was the second-lowest of the season and the .067 percentage from downtown was a season-low for the Bluejays. Elmhurst hit 24-of-31 from the foul line to shoot 77.4 percent.

Coleman led Elmhurst in the loss, totaling a team-best 11 points. Kyle Wuest and Erik Crittenden scored 10 points apiece for the Bluejays while Will Nixon totaled five points and a team-leading seven rebounds.

Augustana shot just 37.3 percent (22-of-59) from the floor, including 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from downtown. The Vikings were solid from the free throw line, hitting 21-of-25 attempts (84.0 percent). The Vikings turned the Bluejays' 23 turnovers into 17 points.

Hunter Hill and Brandon Motzel totaled 11 points apiece to lead the Vikings in the win. Pierson Wofford came off the bench to total nine points and six rebounds for the Vikings.

Elmhurst will wait to see if they receive an at-large selection to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The bracket will be announced on www.ncaa.com on Monday, February 29, at 11:30 a.m.