FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Box Score
Feb. 12, 2014 - The North Central College men's basketball team saw its hopes of advancing to the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament dashed by a second-half shooting spree on Wednesday, as Illinois Wesleyan University caught fire down the stretch and pulled away from the Cardinals for an 80-68 victory at Gregory Arena.
North Central (12-11, 5-7 CCIW) managed to keep pace with the fifth-ranked Titans throughout the first half, but the visitors knocked down 15 of their final 20 shots, including 11 of 13 at one point, to eliminate the Cardinals from postseason contention.
The hosts got off to a strong start, taking a 12-6 lead after seven minutes of play following a layup by Brandon Williams and a three-point play by Jack Burchett. IWU (19-3, 9-2) bounced back to tie the game at 14-14, and the contest was tied twice more before halftime, the last of which was at 23-23 after Williams' three-pointer with 5:55 on the clock.
The Titans scored six unanswered points over the next four minutes to pull in front. Trailing, 32-27, North Central got two free throws from Kevin Honn and a jumper from the top of the key from Williams before the buzzer to head into halftime trailing by just a 32-31 count.
The Cardinals trailed early in the second period until consecutive buckets from Vince Kmiec and Landon Gamble knotted the score at 38-38 with 15:57 to play. IWU began its game-deciding run by knocking down six straight shots, took its first double-digit lead at 57-47 with 8:58 left, and put together a 10-2 run to claim its largest lead at 65-49 with 6:21 on the clock. The Titans wound up shooting 64.0 percent (16 of 25) from the floor in the second half and 56.0 percent (28 of 50) in the game.
Gamble scored a team-high 17 points for North Central, while Williams and Burchett each scored 16 and Kmiec totaled 15. Williams also grabbed seven rebounds and Kmiec recorded six assists.
The Titans, who got half of their points from their reserves, were led by Jordan Nelson's 18 points. Dylan Overstreet added 17 points and Eric Dortsch scored 15.
The Cardinals host Wheaton College (17-6, 10-2) for Senior Night on Saturday. 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.
