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

Box Score

Feb. 19, 2011 - The North Central College men's basketball team beat one of the best defensive teams in NCAA Division III at its own game on Saturday, continuing their recent run of strong play with a 50-46 victory over third-ranked Augustana College at Gregory Arena.

North Central (15-10, 11-3 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) held the conference-leading Vikings to 32.7 percent shooting (16-49) from the floor and made just enough clutch plays down the stretch to improve to 6-1 in CCIW home games and remain in contention for a share of the conference title.

The Cardinals had a great deal of difficulty scoring against Augustana's stifling half-court defense early on, trailing by as many as seven points in the first half. Consecutive buckets by Brian Evans and Landon Gamble closed the gap to three points at 19-16 with 2:15 left before halftime, but the Vikings' Bryant Voiles countered with a layup to send the visitors into the break with a 21-16 advantage. Augustana led despite making just 8 of 26 field-goal attempts (30.8 percent), while the Cardinals made 7 of 23 (30.4 percent).

North Central fought hard to erase its deficit early in the second half, tying the score three times in the first eight minutes. With the score knotted at 28-28 with 12:09 to play, the Cardinals embarked on their first extended scoring run of the contest, as Kevin Gillespie canned a three-pointer, Aaron Tiknis converted a tip-in and Derek Raridon drove the lane for a layup to give the hosts a 35-28 advantage.

The Vikings (22-2, 11-2 CCIW) managed to halt the rally but still trailed by a 40-34 count when Brian Evans knocked down a pair of free throws and Raridon hit a three-pointer to give North Central the largest lead of the contest at 45-34.

Augustana made one final rally to get back into contention, scoring the game's next 10 points. Voiles scored five straight, including a three-point play, to leave the Cardinals with just a one-point lead (45-44) with 2:23 left. 

Landon Gamble scored in the post for North Central, and the Vikings' Kyle Nelson made one of two free throws on the other end, leaving the score at 48-45 in the Cardinals' favor. Gillespie and Augustana's Brian DeSimone each then went 1 for 2 at the charity stripe on successive possessions. After rebounding a missed North Central free-throw attempt, Augustana had an opportunity for a game-tying score in the final seconds, but the Cardinals forced a turnover and Gillespie made two free throws to close out the victory.

Gamble finished with a game-high 16 points, and shared team-high rebounding honors with Jack Burchett, as each had seven. Gillespie added nine points and Tiknis scored eight.

Voiles was the Vikings' top scorer with 11 points. Nelson added 10 points and seven boards.

Augustana closes out the regular season on Tuesday at Illinois Wesleyan University. A win by the Titans would give North Central a share of the conference title and would give the Cardinals the right to host next weekend's CCIW Tournament. The tournament will be held Friday and Saturday.