WAUKESHA, Wis. - Ben Widdes' hard-driving effort was a catalyst to success.
Widdes, a 6-foot sophomore point guard from Rice Lake, Wis., scored 13 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and had six assists as the Carroll University men's basketball team upset No. 20-ranked and first-place Augustana College 75-70 in a physical, uptempo College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game in front of a large crowd at Van Male Field House on Saturday.
It was an emotional, energized home-court performance by the Pioneers, who improved to 7-6 in the conference standings and 12-10 overall to keep their hopes alive for a berth in the upcoming four-team CCIW tournament. (Feb. 24-25)
With three games remaining in the regular season, Augustana remains atop the league standings with an 11-3 record but dropped to 18-5 overall. Illinois Wesleyan, Carthage and North Park are currently tied for second (8-5), North Central is fifth at (8-6), followed by Carroll and Wheaton tied for sixth.
Trailing 61-60 late in the second half, Carroll responded to the pressure-packed challenge with a decisive 15-9 run over the course of the final four minutes to ensure the dramatic, home-court victory.
Widdes contributed seven points to help power the pressure-packed stretch for the Pioneers, including a wide-open run-igniting 3-point basket on the top, right side of the perimeter to take a 63-61 lead with 3:51 remaining in the nail-biting battle.
"Coming off of two tough losses, it was great to get a big victory to keep our conference tourney hopes alive," said Widdes, who added two slashing layups within the final two minutes to help sustain a lead. "With three games left, we want to build off the momentum, move forward and see where it takes us. At this point in the season, every game is huge so it was great to get this one and take another important step."
Widdes came in prepared for the challenge, worked through the big-game pressure and played with intensity each step of the way.
"After struggling against them earlier in our first game this season, it was a good feeling to come out with a lot of energy, compete with confidence and play with a little chip on my shoulder to get the job done," Widdes said. "With time winding down, it was satisfying to be able to finish on some key drives to the basket and help put the game away. We just executed the gameplan from start to finish and everything came together."
Senior guard Kyle Keranen (Hartland, Wis.) contributed 20 points with four 3-point baskets, grabbed five rebounds and had four assists for the Pioneers, who made 10 3-pointers, 11 of 12 free throws and shot 56.3 percent from field-goal range.
Keranen was a force from the perimeter during the game-winning run, nailing two clutch baseline 3-pointers for Carroll, which avenged its 85-66 road loss to the Vikings on Jan. 14.
"After a couple of tough losses, it was nice to be able to come back home and take full advantage of the bye week," said Keranen, who had eight point during the explosive run and made two free throws with 4.9 seconds left to put an exclamation point on the victory. "We came up with a great game plan, executed it on both ends of the floor and played with a lot of energy. Throughout the day, we fed off of the adrenaline of the big crowd and showed why we are so difficult to beat on our home floor. It was just nice to get back on the winning track.
"My teammates did a great job of distributing the ball so it was great to be able to step up with confidence and knock down the shots when they counted the most. During the course of the season, we've done a good job of playing our best basketball with everything on the line so this victory should give us a lot of motivation in the games to come."
Freshman guard Nick Penny (Lake Zurich, Ill.) followed with nine points and junior guard/forward Tanner Zaeske (South Milwaukee, Wis.) had eight points. Sophomore forward/center Tyler Ingebrigtsen (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) added six points and a team-best eight rebounds.
"We were ready to go from the opening tip-off," said Carroll fourth-year head coach Paul Combs, whose team has a 6-2 record on Ted H. Baker Court this season. "From beginning to end, we approached the game with the mindset that we were going to play tough and make them earn everything. That, combined with our ability to share the ball on the offensive end, were key to our success. Our unselfishness, on-court awareness and knack for being shot ready were vital to building momentum in the first half."
"Augustana is a championship-level program (that was ranked No. 1 in the nation for the majority of last season) and has remained a consistent NCAA Division III Top 20 program so it was just a matter of staying the course, filling our specific roles and making plays to get the job done. It was a total team effort and the result of everyone performing at a high level. We've had our share of adversity (noting the key loss of 6-4 senior guard/forward Joel Heesch from Mauston, Wis. to injury in November) but have done a nice job of overcoming it and surviving the late-season grind. Our motto (Blame nobody. Expect nothing. Do something) is something we try to live by so if we can continue to do that, we should be able to compete with anyone in the conference the rest of the way."
Junior guard Dylan Sortillo scored a team-high 20 points for Augustana, which entered the contest riding the momentum created by winning 11 of its last 12 games. Sophomore guard Chrishawn Orange had 14 points for the Vikings, who made six 3-pointers, 12 of 16 free throws and shot 48.1 percent from the field.

PIONEER FAST FACTS
What: The Carroll University men's basketball team upset No. 20-ranked Augustana College 75-70 in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Van Male Field House on Saturday evening.
Record: 7-6 in conference, 12-10 overall
Scoring Leaders: Ben Widdes (22 points), Kyle Keranen (20 points), Nick Penny (9 points), Tanner Zaeske (8 points), Tyler Ingebrigtsen (6 points)
Notable: Trailing 63-61 late in the second half, Carroll responded with a decisive 15-9 run to complete the dramatic come-from-behind victory.