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

Box Score

Feb. 17, 2010 - Taking advantage of a multitude of scoring opportunities in the paint, the North Central College men's basketball team sent its seniors off with a victory in its final regular-season home game, completing a season sweep of Elmhurst College with an 88-78 win at Gregory Arena.

Repeatedly converting on drives to the basket and passes into the lane, the Cardinals scored 48 points in the paint and shot better than 60 percent from the floor in pulling off the victory.

North Central (12-12, 5-8 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) scored eight of the first 10 points of the contest and never trailed, though the Bluejays rallied shortly thereafter and cut the lead to 12-11 with 12:37 left in the first half. Brian Evans scored four points in a 9-1 run to boost the Cardinals' advantage to 21-12, and Evans' layup with 8:50 on the clock gave the hosts their first double-digit lead at 27-17. North Central led by as many as 14 points before taking a 42-29 edge into halftime.

Elmhurst (6-18, 1-12 CCIW) switched to a zone defense in the second half and briefly slowed the Cardinals' scoring attack, but were unable to seriously threaten the lead. The Bluejays cut their deficit to 54-48 after scoring six straight points, but a three-pointer by Tyler Bantz keyed a 7-0 Cardinal run that built the lead back up to 13.

A jumper in the lane by David Twyman gave North Central its biggest lead at 81-66 with 2:06 left. The Bluejays switched to a full-court press down the stretch in an attempt to get back into the game, but the Cardinals had little trouble breaking the pressure. Twyman threw down a pair of thunderous dunks in the final 32 seconds to slam the door on the guests.

Evans made a living driving past defenders for layups and short jumpers, making 9 of 11 shots from the floor and scoring a career-high 26 points to go with 10 rebounds and five assists. Twyman finished with 23 points and eight rebounds, making 9 of 12 shots, while Bantz turned in career highs of 11 points and five assists.

Chris Childs came off the bench to pace Elmhurst with 21 points and eight assists. Mike McCurdy added 15 points and Dustin Bainter scored 14.

The Cardinals conclude the season on Saturday at Augustana College (15-9, 8-5 CCIW). Tipoff at the Carver Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.