FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Box Score
CHICAGO (Jan. 12, 2011) - A slow start turned out to be a minor hurdle for the North Central College men's basketball team on Wednesday, as the Cardinals dominated play over the final 30 minutes and defeated North Park University, 69-57, for their second straight College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin victory.
The Vikings made 8 of their first 10 shots from the floor, including 4 of 4 three-point attempts, to stake themselves to a 22-9 victory after nine minutes had elapsed. A 9-0 North Central run, bookended by baskets from Brian Evans, got the visitors back into contention and narrowed the gap to 22-18.
The Cardinals (6-8, 2-1 CCIW) held North Park scoreless for the final 2:52 of the first half and took their first lead of the contest with 1:04 on the clock, as Derek Raridon sank a 15-footer to send the guests into halftime with a 29-28 advantage.
When play resumed, the Vikings switched their defense to a 2-3 zone in an effort to prevent North Central from penetrating into the lane and scoring in the paint. The Cardinals, however, still managed to score their first two buckets of the second period in the lane as Jack Burchett converted a layin and Landon Gamble completed a three-point play.
North Central harassed the Vikings into missing 10 of their first 12 shots in the second period and took its biggest lead at 51-36 with 8:38 to play following four straight points from Brad Hallstein.
North Park made a last-ditch comeback attempt in the final minutes and knocked down three three-pointers in a 32-second stretch to cut the Cardinals' lead to 65-57 with 37 seconds left. Inbounding the ball under his own basket, Raridon beat the Vikings' full-court pressure by firing a long pass to Kevin Gillespie, who beat the hosts to the other end and drew an intentional foul. Gillespie made both free throws and Raridon made another on the ensuing possession, putting an end to the North Park threat.
Evans made 6 of 8 shots from the floor and posted team highs of 15 points and eight rebounds for North Central, while Raridon scored 14 points Gamble put up 13 and Burchett finished with 10. Raridon and Gamble each grabbed seven rebounds and Gillespie led the way with seven assists.
North Park (7-7, 1-2 CCIW) was led in scoring by Clayton Cahill, who made 5 of 8 three-pointers and scored 18 points, and Davone Robinson, who totaled 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
The Cardinals return home to host Millikin University (1-12, 0-3 CCIW) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
