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Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Box Score
WHEATON, Ill. (Jan. 14, 2012) - In a back-and-forth struggle which went down to the final possession on three occasions, the North Central College men's basketball team suffered its first loss in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play on Saturday, as Wheaton College defeated the Cardinals, 66-64 in double overtime at King Arena.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for North Central (9-6, 3-1 CCIW), which led throughout most of regulation play and pulled ahead by as many as 13 points in the second period.
Landon Gamble scored the game's first four points and sparked the Cardinals' game-opening 10-1 run. North Central led until Wheaton's Tim McCrary scored six points in an 8-0 rally and gave the hosts a 17-14 edge. Vince Kmiec sank a three-pointer to tie the score and Aaron Tiknis made two free throws before McCrary countered with a jumper to tie the contest once again at 19-19 with 58 seconds before halftime. Tiknis knocked down two more charity shots just before time ran out and sent North Central into the locker room with a 21-19 advantage.
The opening half saw both teams struggle to get past its opponent's defense, as neither team shot better than 30 percent from the floor. Both squads showed improved efficiency in the second half, as Wheaton got untracked first by making 3 of 4 shots in a 7-2 run that gave the Thunder a 26-23 advantage. North Central answered with a 13-2 run that spanned the next six minutes, taking a 36-28 lead following Tiknis' three-pointer with 11:54 to play.
Two consecutive three-pointers by Kmiec launched a 13-5 run that gave the Cardinals their largest lead of the evening at 50-37. Wheaton's Aaron Garriott, however, responded quickly by scoring seven points in an 11-2 surge that left the hosts with just a 52-48 deficit with 3:45 to play. A free throw by Tiknis and a three-pointer from Kevin Gillespie restored North Central's lead to eight points, but Wheaton scored the next seven points to narrow the gap to 56-55.
Derek Raridon was sent to the free-throw line with seven seconds on the clock and made one of two attempts. Garriott's three-pointer in the final seconds missed, but the Thunder's Spencer Scchultze scored on a tip-in just before the buzzer to send the contest into its first extra session.
Garriott opened the first overtime period with a jumper, then followed with a steal and dunk to put the Thunder ahead, 61-57. Garriott scored again with 1:09 left, but Gamble scored twice in the final minute, including an inside bucket off a pass from Kmiec just before time expired, to force a second overtime with the score knotted at 63-63.
Each of the points scored in the second overtime period came from the free-throw line. Garriott made two shots and McCrary made a third to put Wheaton ahead once again, 66-63. Charlie Rosenberg made one of two shots with 2:04 to play, and the Cardinals had two opportunities to go for the win, but three-point attempts by Kmiec and Raridon were both off the mark.
Tiknis finished with a season-high 17 points and added 11 rebounds to post his third double-double of the campaign, while Kmiec and Gamble each scored 15 points. Garriott paced Wheaton (12-3, 3-1 CCIW) with 23 points and McCrary added 22 points and 11 rebounds.
The Cardinals host Illinois Wesleyan University on Tuesday. The 25th-ranked Titans (13-2) lead the CCIW standings witha 4-0 record in conference play. Tipoff at Gregory Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
