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

Box Score

Jan. 8, 2011 -  For the seventh consecutive year, the North Central College men's basketball team has posted a win at home over Wheaton College, defeating the Thunder, 83-75, at Gregory Arena on Saturday.

The Cardinals (5-8, 1-1 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) shot 60 percent from the floor (18 of 30) in building a lead in the first half, then made 24 of 29 free throws (82.8 percent) in the second period to stay a step ahead of their visitors.

After allowing eight of the game's first 10 points, North Central embarked on a 15-4 run that left it with a 17-12 lead following two free throws by Chris Smith with 10:53 on the first-half clock. The Cardinals held a 29-24 advantage when two straight jumpers by CJ Goldthree jumpstarted an 8-0 run that gave the hosts their largest lead of the game (37-24) with 3:27 to go before halftime.

Wheaton was able to slash its deficit to 40-33 in the final minute of the period, but Brian Evans found Goldthree for a buzzer-beating layup to send the Cardinals into the locker room with a nine-point edge.

The closest the Thunder were able to get in the second period was four points, though North Central responded by drawing fouls and converting free-throw attempts each time to thwart the Wheaton comeback effort. The Cardinals made eight straight charity tosses in the final 43 seconds, six of which came from Kevin Gillespie, to put the contest on ice.

The Cardinals were led in scoring by Derek Raridonand Landon Gamble, each of whom totaled 18 points, while Goldthree finished with 15. Evans added team highs of eight rebounds and five assists. The Cardinals made a season-high 30 free throws in 37 attempts (81.1 percent) and turned the ball over a season-low seven times.

Wheaton (10-3, 1-1 CCIW) got 18 points from Jon DeMoss, 17 from Tim McCrary and 16 from Jeremy Pflederer. McCrary also tallied nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

North Central will travel to North Park University for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff on Wednesday.