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

Box Score

Jan. 15, 2014 - The North Central College men's basketball team saw its recent rough stretch extended one game further on Wednesday, as the Cardinals suffered a 62-50 loss to the 13th-ranked Augustana College Vikings at Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals (8-7, 1-3 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) lost for the third straight game and the fifth time in the last six outings. North Central was held to a season-low scoring total for the third straight contest.

North Central scored the game's first four points, but soon saw its only lead disappear for good as the Vikings scored the next eight points and never trailed again. The Cardinals tied the score at 15-15 on Landon Gamble's layup, but Augustana countered with inside baskets by Kevin Schlitter and Ben Ryan to get back in front and wound up taking a 31-25 advantage into halftime.

Making 12 of 18 shots from the floor (66.7 percent) in the first 13 minutes of the second half, Augustana (13-2, 3-1 CCIW) built its lead up to as many as 18 points after the break and was not threatened down the stretch. The Vikings had just one double-figure scorer, as guard Hunter Hill put up 16 points, but eight other Augustana players scored at least five points in the game. Ryan grabbed a game-high nine rebounds for the visitors.

Gamble paced the Cardinals with 19 points and seven rebounds, moving past Gary Groharing '70 and into fifth place in North Central history in career scoring (1,459). Tyler Sutton added 11 points and Brandon Williams contributed four assists and three steals.

The Cardinals host Elmhurst College (10-5, 2-2) on Saturday. The Bluejays defeated North Park University on Wednesday, 70-67. Tipoff at Gregory Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. Links to live video, audio and in-game statistics can be found by clicking HERE.