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

Box Score

DECATUR, Ill. (Feb. 5, 2011) - Dominating the paint from start to finish, the North Central College men's basketball team emerged victorious for the seventh time in eight games on Saturday, hammering Millikin University, 65-47, at the Griswold Center.

The Cardinals improved to 7-2 in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play and 11-9 overall, shooting 53.8 percent from the floor (25-47) and owning a 33-19 rebounding advantage.

Spearheading the effort was freshman forward Landon Gamble, who knocked down 11 of 15 field-goal attempts and scored a season-high 26 points, topping the 20-point mark for the third straight game. 

With the scored tied at 10-10 seven minutes after play began, North Central made 5 of 7 shots in putting together a 14-4 run that yielded a 24-14 lead with 6:43 to play in the first half. Millikin bounced back and got five straight points from guard Jacob Shasteen to narrow the gap to 26-22, but the Cardinals scored the final five points of the period, including a buzzer-beating layup by Gamble, to take a 31-22 lead into the break.

Gamble kept the points coming early in the second half, scoring the Cardinals' first eight points as the visitors extended their lead to 41-26. The Big Blue (1-18, 0-9 CCIW) followed with a 9-2 run to trail by a 43-35 count with 13:51 left to play, but were held scoreless for the next seven minutes as North Central scored 14 straight points to take its biggest lead at 57-35.

Jack Burchett made 6 of 9 shots en route to a 14-point evening for the Cardinals, while CJ Goldthree added 10. The pair shared the team lead in rebounds with six each, while Brian Evans had a game-high six assists. 

Shasteen led Millikin in scoring with 14 points and Nikko Robertson scored 11.

North Central hosts North Park University (9-11, 3-6) on Wednesday. Tipoff at Gregory Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.