Sophomore Chrishawn Orange’s clutch performances in the Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament have undoubtedly helped the Augustana Vikings progress to the Final Four.
Orange’s two buzzer beater shots to carried Augustana to two decisive wins in their games against the University of St. Thomas and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. It’s no surprise this was a great feeling for both the team and Orange.
“It feels great because all my teammates and coaches are happy for me. It was great to get it done for my team, especially for the seniors, Jacob Johnston and Michael Hoekstra,” Orange said.
Head coach Grey Giovanine was no less than impressed by Orange’s performance in both games.
“Having the same player make two buzzer beater shots on two consecutive nights is extremely rare,” Giovanine said. “I would say Chris really put the explanation point on two great performances that were collective team efforts. But his play in the last seconds was just exceptional.”
Both Orange and his teammates performances early in the tournament helped to pump them up and give them the motivation they needed to progress in the competition. Orange said it was nice for them to get wins in two close games, as earlier in the season they lost in multiple close competitions.
“The biggest thing is to have that confidence going into games,” Orange said. “We lost a couple of close ones so it was really nice to get those two wins and now we know we can win in those types of games.”
As such a young player Orange has the next two years to continue to work with Giovanine and refine his game to improve on an already stellar record.
Orange was a key figure in Friday’s game against Wartburg College, where he scored 15 points. Also, although he ran into some foul trouble during Saturday night’s game against Hanover College, he still scored eight points for the Vikings.
With Orange’s experience playing with last year’s teams, which was one of the best teams in Augustana history, Giovanine said he has been impressed with Orange’s and the team.
“For a team this inexperienced to have done what they have done, it’s nothing I’ve ever seen and I’ve coached a long, long time,” Giovanine said.  “My hat’s off to this team.”
The Vikings will play again this Friday against Williams College for a spot in the  NCAA DII National Championship game.