BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Jan. 10, 2009) - The North Central College men's basketball team completed a two-game sweep in its first week of College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play on Saturday, posting a 77-70 victory over 19th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University at the Shirk Center.

With 12 games remaining in the regular season, the Cardinals (10-3, 2-0 CCIW) have already equaled their win total from all of the 2007-08 campaign.

The score was tied seven times in the first half, the last of which occurred at 26-26 with 4:58 remaining. Illinois Wesleyan (8-5, 0-2) held the Cardinals scoreless for nearly four minutes and wound up taking a 34-29 advantage into halftime.

North Central, however, opened the second half with a 14-2 run to take a 43-36 lead with 14:53 to play. David Twyman (Jr., Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) put up eight points in the rally, while Chris Drennan (Sr., Bloomington, Ill./Normal Community) added six.

The Cardinals led by as many as 11 points late in the second half, never allowing their advantage to dip below five points. North Central was able to prevent against a Titan comeback by knocking down 15 of 18 free throws in the final two minutes of play.

Helping to secure victory for the Cardinals was a 22-4 edge in points off of turnovers and 57.8 percent accuracy from the floor (26-45), including a 60.9 percent shooting effort (14-23) in the second half.

Drennan totaled team highs of 17 points and six rebounds, while Matt Rogers (Sr., Rochelle, Ill./Rochelle) netted 16 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Twyman finished with 12 points and Mitch Raridon (Sr., Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Northeast) put up 11.

North Central hosts Millikin University (Ill.) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.