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

Box Score

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (Dec. 8, 2009) - The North Central College men's basketball team returned from a six-day layoff with a solid performance on Wednesday, pulling ahead early and holding on for a 76-68 victory on the road at Lake Forest College.

A run of 19 consecutive points midway through the first half helped the Cardinals (4-2) build a double-digit lead, and the visitors used solid defense and clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch to stave off a frantic comeback attempt by the Foresters.

The score was tied four times in the first six minutes, leaving the count at 10-10, before Lake Forest forward Victor Campbell completed a three-point play to give the hosts a one-point edge. Jon Knapczyk's layup briefly gave North Central the lead, but the Foresters' Travis Clark scored on the inside for a 13-12 Forester advantage.

Clark's bucket was the last the home team would score for nearly seven minutes, during which the Cardinals piled up 19 straight points and took a 31-13 lead. Back-to-back three-pointers by Reid Barringer and Mike Saris jumpstarted the rally, and David Twyman turned in six points of his own before Lake Forest lit up the scoreboard again.

After heading into halftime ahead, 33-20, North Central watched the Foresters score seven straight points to narrow the gap to 33-27 before Derek Raridon scored four points in a 6-0 run to replenish the Cardinals' advantage. The closest the home team got was seven points until less than a minute remained, and never got within six points as North Central made 11 of 12 free throws in the final 1:08. Raridon made 6 of 6 charity shots as time wound down, while Barringer was 5 for 6.

Raridon finished with the first double-double of his young career, turning in 23 points and 10 rebounds. Barringer totaled 16 points, four assists and three steals, while Twyman put up 14 points. Clark tallied 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Foresters (2-6), and Campbell finished with 16 points.

The Cardinals are idle until Thursday, Dec. 17, when they travel to the Indiana Institute of Technology. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern time.