FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Box Score
CHICAGO (Jan. 24, 2015) - Just three days removed from a season-best offensive performance, the North Central College men's basketball team ran into an opponent which enjoyed similar output on Saturday, as North Park University got in a rhythm early and rolled past the Cardinals, 92-68, at the North Park Gymnasium.
North Central trailed most of the game and faced a double-digit deficit for the final 22 minutes of the 40-minute contest as the Vikings shot 61.8 percent from the floor (34 of 55) and 52.6 percent from three-point range (10 of 19) in recording their first College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) win of the season.
The Cardinals (14-4, 4-3 CCIW) owned an 8-6 advantage early after two straight baskets by Charles Rosenberg, but North Park scored seven straight points, with five coming from Juwan Henry, to lead by a 14-8 count and prompt a North Central timeout with 14:29 on the first-half clock. Rosenberg sank a jumper coming out of the stoppage, but the Vikings responded with another 7-0 run to extend their advantage to 21-10.
North Central narrowed the gap to three points on two occasions and trailed by a 42-36 count with 2:47 before halftime, but was held scoreless for the rest of the period while the hosts scored 10 unanswered points, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Henry, to take a 52-36 lead into the break. The Vikings (10-8, 1-6) left no room for a comeback attempt in the second half, leading by as many as 27 down the stretch.
Rosenberg led the Cardinals with 18 points on 8 of 14 shooting, while Jack Burchett put up 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, the highest single-game total in the CCIW this season. Henry led all scorers with 28 points while leading North Park with seven rebounds and six assists.
North Central hosts Millikin University (7-11, 2-5) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Links to live audio and in-game statistics, as well as a live video broadcast from Naperville Community Television, can be accessed by clicking HERE.
