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Box Score

Feb. 25, 2011 - The North Central College men's basketball team never recovered from a slow start in the semifinals of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Tournament on Friday, trailing throughout a 69-57 loss to Illinois Wesleyan University at Gregory Arena.

Illinois Wesleyan (19-7) made four of their first five shots and eventually pulled ahead to a 17-7 lead in the first six minutes of play. The Cardinals bounced back with eight straight points to narrow the gap to 17-15 following a layup by Aaron Tiknis with 9:57 left in the first half. 

The Titans, however, countered with a 10-2 run, with eight of the points coming from forward Doug Sexauer and wound up pulling ahead by as many as 11 points before taking a 36-27 advantage into halftime.

North Central (15-11) got off to a strong start in the second half, as a three-pointer by Kevin Gillespie and a layup by Landon Gamble cut the deficit to 36-32 in the first two minutes. The Cardinals kept the pressure on and eventually tying the contest at 46-46 with 12:19 to play following two straight baskets by Gamble. 

Sexauer put the Titans back in front with a three-pointer and a layup on consecutive possessions, igniting a 13-2 run that gave the visitors a 59-48 advantage with 7:38 to go. North Central never recovered as the Titans led by as many as 14 points down the stretch.

Gamble led North Central with 16 points, while CJ Goldthree added 11 off the bench. Brian Evans grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and Gillespie totaled five assists.

Sexauer led all scorers with 22 points, while John Koschnitzky made 8 of 9 shots and scored 18 points.