Contact: Louis Groce, Graduate Assistant to the Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Box Score

(Nov. 24, 2012) – The North Central College men's basketball team moved to 4-0, and won their seventh consecutive game at Gregory Arena, dating back to the 2011-12 season, after defeating Carroll University, 93-83, on Saturday afternoon. 

The Cardinals (4-0) led the entire way as they jumped out to a quick, 5-0, lead on a three-pointer by Aaron Tiknis and a jumper by Landon Gamble.  The Pioneers kept it tight in the early going until the Cardinals strung together nine consecutive points to take a 37-24 advantage with 4:15 showing in the first half.  Carroll cut the lead to eight, 43-35, just before the first half ended. 

Gamble had a big first half for the Cardinals, going 6 of 7 from the field and scoring 15 points.  Sharing the basketball was also crucial for North Central in the first half, with 11 assists coming on just 17 made field goals.  The Pioneers kept it under double digits by shooting 4 of 8 from three-point range and converting on nine free throws. 

Carroll (3-1) hung around until North Central put the Pioneers away with a 15-3 run over the course of 4:12 to extend their lead to 20 points with 6:32 left to go.  Six different Cardinals scored during the spurt, and the Pioneers would not get the lead to single digits the rest of the way. 

Down on the scoreboard and with the clock as their enemy, the Pioneers resulted to fouling down the stretch, but Brandon Williams sank 8-10 from the charity stripe to keep North Central's comfortable advantage. 

Despite playing only 20 minutes due to foul trouble, Gamble led the Cardinals in scoring with 25 points and added a team-high five rebounds.  Williams added 13 points and Tiknis notched 11 to go with five assists.  Vince Kmiec poured in 15 points and sunk 3 of 6 from downtown. 

Carroll was led by Dan Kratz with 23 points and Alec Molter with 12 points and five boards. 

The Cardinals' 93 points were the most they had scored since Dec. 30, 2009 when North Central defeated Rockford College 102-95. 

North Central hits the road for the first time this season when they travel to Trine University on Dec. 1 with tip-off at 1:00 p.m. eastern time.