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

Box Score

KENOSHA, Wis. (Jan. 19, 2011) -  The North Central College men's basketball team emerged victorious in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play for the fourth straight time on Wednesday, erasing an eight-point second-half deficit and defeating the Carthage College Red Men, 66-63, at Tarble Arena.

The Cardinals (8-8, 4-1 CCIW) remained in a tie with 16th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University for second place in the conference standings due in large part to its 41-22 rebounding advantage, which led to a 20-3 edge in second-chance points.

North Central jumped out to a 7-2 advantage early, but the Red Men scored 10 straight points to pull ahead and eventually took a 32-19 lead with 7:18 left in the first half.

The Cardinals turned up the defensive pressure and held Carthage scoreless for the next seven minutes, as the hosts went 0 for 5 with three turnovers while North Central got 10 straight points, including five straight from Brad Hallstein, to narrow the gap to 32-29.

Carthage guard Steve Djurickovic, the reigning CCIW Player of the Year, sank two free throws with 18 seconds on the clock to snap the drought, but Derek Raridon knocked down a three-pointer at the buzzer to shave the Red Men's lead down to 34-32 at the break.

North Central was able to tie the score early in the second period, but a 12-4 Red Men run gave Carthage a 47-39 advantage with 12:52 to play. The visitors countered with a run of their own, as Brian Evans scored six points and CJ Goldthree added five in an 11-0 North Central surge that put the Cardinals back in front.

The guests never trailed again, but never pulled ahead by more than five points. Carthage's Malcom Kelly drove the lane for a layup while getting fouled with 16 seconds to play and had the opportunity to tie the score by completing the three-point play, but his free throw was off the mark. Kevin Gillespie canned two free throws after Goldthree grabbed the rebound to help seal the win.

Raridon made 8 of 14 shots from the floor and scored a game-high 21 points. Evans finished with 12 points, a career-best 14 rebounds, and six assists, and Goldthree put up 11 points.

Carthage (9-7, 2-3 CCIW) was paced by Tyler Pierce's 20 points, while Kelly scored 16 and Djurickovic finished with 10 points and eight assists.

The Cardinals travel to face eighth-ranked Augustana College (16-0, 5-0) on Saturday. Tipoff at the Carver Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.