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Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Box Score
BRIDGEWATER, Va. (Dec. 13, 2013) - Securing its third straight victory and the second in the past three days, the North Central College men's basketball team prevailed in a defensive war Friday in the first game of the Don Glick Classic, defeating the host Bridgewater College Eagles, 60-51, at Nininger Hall.
The Cardinals (5-2) continued to focus their efforts in the low post and wound up getting a huge game from junior forward Jack Burchett, who led North Central with 17 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocked shots in a career-high 37 minutes. Burchett recorded his second double-double in three games and established a personal best with his assist total. The Cardinals limited Bridgewater (3-3) to 40.4 percent shooting (19-47) and did not allow any second-chance points all evening long.
After surrendering a three-pointer on the Eagles' first possession, North Central got five straight points from Burchett to pull in front early. After missing seven of its first eight shots, Bridgewater rallied and tied the score at 13-13 before the Cardinals got back-to-back inside buckets from Burchett and Landon Gamble and a three-pointer by Pat Rourke put the visitors in front once again.
Owning a 26-19 lead near the end of the first period, the Cardinals took their first double-digit lead at 29-19 on David Robinson's three-point play with 1:33 before halftime. Bridgewater's Ronnie Thomas scored in the lane with 1:17 to go, but Responded responded on the next trip down the floor and North Central went into halftime with a 31-21 lead.
The Eagles outscored North Central, 14-4, over the first six minutes of the second half and tied the score at 35-35 when a three-pointer by Thomas completed a 6-0 run. After committing a pair of turnovers, the Cardinals got a jumper from Kevin Honn and a layup by Rourke to go ahead, 39-35. Owning a 41-39 advantage with 8:30 to play, North Central extended its lead on a putback by Burchett and a three-pointer from Rourke. The Cardinals led by as many as 14 points the rest of the way and made 8 of 10 free throws in the final one minute, 20 seconds.
Honn added 10 points for North Central, and Gamble, Honn and Kmiec each shared the lead in rebounds (6). Thomas led Bridgewater with 14 points, while Tavis Stapleton scored 12.
The Cardinals take on Eastern Mennonite University (Pa.) on Saturday at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Links to live video and in-game statistics can be found by clicking HERE.
