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

Box Score

Jan. 26, 2011 -   A season-best shooting performance led to a comfortable win for the North Central College men's basketball team on Wednesday, as the Cardinals built up a large early lead and cruised to a 76-58 victory over Elmhurst College at Gregory Arena.

North Central (9-9, 5-2 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) made 12 of its first 15 shots from the floor and wound up shooting 67.5 percent (27-40) for the game, outscoring the Bluejays in the paint, 42-22. The Cardinals moved into sole possession of second place in the CCIW standings with the victory.

The hosts occupied the driver's seat from the beginning, scoring the game's first nine points and leading by as many as 19 points before taking a 45-27 advantage into halftime.

Early in the second period, the Bluejays (7-11, 2-5 CCIW) began firing from long range in an attempt to get back into contention, connecting four times in a span of three minutes to narrow the gap to 60-49 with 10:05 to play. A pair of buckets in the paint by Landon Gamble, however, got North Central started on a 9-2 run that put the game out of reach for good.

Gamble made 10 of 14 shots from the field and scored a career-high 25 points for the Cardinals. Four other North Central players scored in double figures, as Derek Raridon finished with 13 points, Kevin Gillespie and CJ Goldthree scored 11, and Brian Evans added 10. Gillespie grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and Evans totaled six assists.

D'Ante Foster paced Elmhurst with 17 points, while Zack Boyd scored 10.

The Cardinals travel to face Wheaton College (13-5, 4-3) on Saturday. Tipoff at King Arena is scheduled for 8 p.m.