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

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Feb. 3, 2010) - The North Central College men's basketball team was turned away in its efforts to record a third straight College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin victory on Wednesday, as the Cardinals led early before suffering a 92-85 defeat at Illinois Wesleyan University.

The Cardinals (10-10, 3-6 CCIW) opened the game with a 12-4 run that spanned the first five minutes of play. Illinois Wesleyan closed the gap to 13-10 before a four-point play by Reid Barringer expanded North Central's advantage to seven. The Cardinals led until 9:19 remained in the opening period, when IWU's Travis Rosenkranz buried a three-pointer to tie the game at 26-26.

The Titans took their first lead at 32-31 on a basket by Duncan Lawson, though Kevin Gillespie fed David Twyman for a layup on the next trip down the floor to nudge North Central in front. A layup by Doug Sexauer and a three-pointer by Stephen Rudnicki, however, yielded a 37-34 advantage for the hosts.

IWU (16-4, 7-2 CCIW) remained in front until just 37 seconds remained in the half, as Raridon's jumper snared a one-point lead for the Cardinals once again, though the Titans' Sean Johnson drove the lane for a layup in the final seconds to send his team into the locker room ahead, 42-41.

Barringer turned in 16 points on 5 of 8 shooting in the first 20 minutes for North Central, which also got 15 points from Raridon.

The teams traded baskets for the first seven minutes of the second half before the Titans got back-to-back three-pointers from Jordan Zimmer and Lawson to take a 60-54 lead. Consecutive baskets by Twyman and Jon Knapczyk got North Central within two points at 60-58, but a jumper by Sexauer and a triple by Johnson kept the Cardinals at bay.

A jump shot by Sexauer with 4:50 to play put IWU up by double digits for the first time at 78-67. North Central never got closer than six points until Barringer sank two three-pointers in 13 seconds to slice the visitors' deficit to 88-83 with just 24 seconds to play. The Titans made 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute to stay a step ahead.

Raridon led North Central with 28 points on 10 of 16 shooting and shared the team lead in rebounds with Twyman, as each grabbed eight. Barringer finished with 26 points, making 5 of 8 three-pointers, and Twyman scored 19.

Sexauer sank 13 of 20 shots and scored 27 points for IWU, and Johnson scored 20.

The Cardinals host Millikin University (7-13, 2-7 CCIW) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.