FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Box Score

Nov. 20, 2009 - The 2009-2010 season began with a flourish for the North Central College men's basketball team, as the Cardinals encountered little resistance en route to a 70-38 whitewash of Oberlin College in the opening round of the Holiday Inn Select Tip-Off Tournament at Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals scored the first 10 points of the game and never looked back, owning a 21-point advantage at halftime and leading comfortably throughout the rest of the contest.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Reid Barringer and two straight inside buckets from David Twyman got North Central (1-0) off to a fast start, and after the Yeomen narrowed the gap to 15-8, the hosts went on a 9-2 run to increase the lead to 24-10. An 11-1 surge late in the period fattened the advantage to 20 points, and a layup in the final seconds by Kyle Julius sent the Cardinals into the break up, 37-16.

After shooting 50 percent from the floor in the opening period, North Central saw its shooting cool off in the second half, but the Cardinals kept up the defensive pressure and never allowed Oberlin (1-1) to put together a run. North Central led by at least 20 points for the final 16 minutes of the game.

Barringer totaled 14 points to lead all scorers, while Twyman finished with 11 and Julius added nine off the bench. Derek Raridon and Brandon Stanciel each grabbed six rebounds and Brian Evans tallied three assists.

Andrew Fox paced Oberlin's scoring with 12 points.

The Cardinals advance to Saturday's championship game, where they will face Mississippi College (1-0). The Choctaws defeated Lakeland College (Wis.), 89-78, on Friday.