Dec. 30, 2011 - The North Central College men's basketball team made no contest of its final non-conference game of the 2011-2012 season on Friday, putting the clamps on Manchester College's offense and controlling the contest from wire to wire in a 62-38 triumph at Gregory Arena.

North Central harassed the Spartans into 33.3 percent shooting from the floor (15-45), including just a 7 for 35 clip (20.0 percent) before the Cardinals' starters left the contest late in the second half. The hosts scored 13 of the game's first 15 points and were never threatened, committing just five turnovers and owning a 40-31 rebounding advantage. North Central scored 18 second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds.

Aaron Tiknis scored the Cardinals' first five points, and Derek Raridon added four more before layups by Tiknis and Landon Gamble left the score at 13-2 after less than six minutes had elapsed. The lead reached 21-4 after two straight three-pointers from CJ Goldthree and the hosts took their largest first-half lead at 30-9 following a three-pointer by Vince Kmiec with 7:18 on the clock. The Cardinals wound up taking a 34-14 advantage into halftime.

After giving up the opening basket of the second period, North Central scored 12 straight points, including a pair of Kmiec threes, and stretched its lead to 56-18 before pulling the starters with 7:22 on the clock.

Kmiec finished with a game-high 17 points in 20 minutes off the bench, making 5 of 7 three-pointers. Tiknis added 14 points and Goldthree put up 12, and the pair shared the team lead in rebounds as each grabbed eight. Tiknis also led the Cardinals with career highs in steals (4) and blocked shots (3), while Kevin Gillespie contributed a season-high six assists.

North Central (6-5) held its opponent from claiming a single double-figure scorer for the second straight game. Senior guard Jordan Moss led Manchester (3-8) with nine points.

The Cardinals open College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play on Wednesday, hosting Carthage College at 7:30 p.m.