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Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Box Score
Jan. 28, 2015 - The North Central College men's basketball team fought mightily to avoid a fourth loss in five games Wednesday night against Millikin University, but a dogged second-half rally came up just short, as the Cardinals lost a 69-66 decision to the Big Blue at Gregory Arena.
The loss put a damper on the career-high scoring effort of Kevin Honn, who came off the bench to lead the Cardinals with 21 points and five assists while also grabing eight rebounds.
North Central (14-5, 4-4 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) led for the only time after Evan Fendley sank a three-pointer for the game's first basket. The Big Blue used a 10-2 run late in the second half to take their first double-digit advantage at 37-26 before Brandon White's layup in the final minute left the Cardinals' deficit at 37-28 heading into halftime. Honn put up nearly half of the home team's scoring output in the first half, totaling 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting.
Millikin (8-11, 3-5 CCIW) extended its advantage to as any as 14 points early in the second period and owned a 52-42 advantage when the Cardinals' comeback bid began in earnest with a 9-2 run which included a three-point play by Honn and a three-point basket by Jayme Moten and narrowed the gap to 54-51 with 10:56 to play. Another Moten three-pointer left North Central with just a one-point deficit at 59-58, though the Big Blue's TJ Sims countered by sinking three free throws in four attempts on Millikin's next two possession.
Charles Rosenberg cut the four-point lead in half with a pair of free throws before taking a pass from Jack Burchett on the fast break and converting a layup to tie the score at 62-62 with 6:04 on the clock. Millikin's Nathan Biggs put his team back in front with a putback, but the score was knotted again at 64-64 when Burchett scored in the post. The Big Blue once again inched in front on Zach Long's free throw with 2:33 left, then got a jumper from Sims to extend the lead to 67-64.
Rosenberg banked in a jumper from the left wing to make it a one-point game once again, but Sims beat the shot clock on the next possession with a driving, off-balance layup to leave the hosts needing a three-pointer with under 30 seconds left. The Cardinals were able to make two attempts for a game-tying triple, but both shots were off the mark.
Rosenberg supplemented Honn's scoring efforts with 19 points while also contributing five blocked shots, and Burchett finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Moten sank three three-pointers to push his season total to 68, just one short of the North Central single-season record with six games still to play in the regular season.
Sims was the lone double-figure scorer for Millikin, putting up a game-high 29 points on 12 of 17 shooting.
North Central hosts Wheaton College (9-10, 2-6) on Saturday, with tipoff scheduled for at 7 p.m. The Cardinals recorded a 75-70 overtime win on the Thunder's home court on Jan. 10. 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.
