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Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Box Score
Feb. 15, 2014 - With an assist from their underclassmen, the seniors on the North Central College men's basketball team closed out the home portion of their careers in style Saturday, as an inspired run of play over the final six minutes led to a 71-66 Senior Night victory over archrival Wheaton College at Gregory Arena.
Facing a 59-53 deficit with 6:27 to play, the Cardinals (13-11, 6-7 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) scored the game's next 11 points and wound up closing the game on an 18-7 run, dealing a blow to Wheaton's chances at an outright CCIW Championship.
The Thunder (17-7, 10-3 CCIW) opened the game by scoring the first 10 points of the evening, prompting an early North Central time out. The Cardinals slowly worked their way back into contention before getting seven straight points, including a pair of three-pointers, to take their first lead at 23-21 with 8:43 left in the first half.
A three-pointer by Tyler Sutton and a layup by Brandon Williams helped give North Central its largest lead of the first half at 32-25. The Thunder cut the lead to a single point on two occasions late in the first period, and Tad Fisher's three-pointer just before the buzzer tied the game at 36-36 at halftime.
After leading briefly to open the second period, the Cardinals played from behind for most of the next 14 minutes. Wheaton broke a 49-49 tie with a 6-0 run covering nearly three minutes, and Tyler Peters' reverse layup left the Thunder with its 59-53 edge before North Central started its game-clinching surge.
Pat Rourke got the rally going with a three-point play, and Williams closed the gap to 59-58 after scoring a layup off an offensive rebound and assist by Honn. Jack Burchett gave the Cardinals the lead with a layup and Honn's driving jumper forced Wheaton to call a timeout with 3:24 on the clock.
Landon Gamble scored in the post with 2:04 to play to extend the Cardinals' lead to 64-59. Wheaton trailed by just two points after Peters knocked down two free throws with 1:08 left, but Vince Kmiec put the game away on the next trip down the floor, coming off a screen and knocking down a three-pointer from the top of the key with 39 seconds left to extend the lead to 68-63.
The Cardinals shot a season-best 64.9 percent from the floor (24 of 37), including a 73.3 percent clip (11 of 15) in the first half. Williams led the Cardinals in scoring with his second straight 16-point game, making 5 of 6 shots from the floor and 6 of 6 at the free-throw line. Burchett totaled 13 points and team highs of eight rebounds and three blocked shots, while Kmiec put up 10 points and three steals. Honn, who turned in nine of North Central's 17 points off the bench, shared the team lead in assists with Williams as each had four. Gamble tied the Cardinals' all-time career record for games played (111) with his participation in the contest.
Peters led Wheaton with 19 points, while Nate Haynes and Brayden Teuscher each scored 13. The Thunder can still share this year's CCIW title with a win over Illinois Wesleyan University next week.
The Cardinals conclude the season at Elmhurst College next Saturday. Tipoff at R.A. Faganel Hall is scheduled for 7 p.m. Links to live video, audio and in-game statistics can be found by clicking HERE.
