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

ALMA, Mich. (Dec. 6, 2015) - A game-winning basket proved to be elusive for both teams at Alma College on Sunday, as the North Central College men's basketball team held the host Scots without a field goal for the final 4:27 but were unable to manufacture one final score in a 67-66 setback at Cappaert Gymnasium.

Alma (3-3) scored six straight points to take a 65-61 lead with 4:27 to play, but was held scoreless for more than three minutes as the Cardinals got back-to-back jump shots from Alex Sorenson and Connor Raridon to tie the score, followed by a free throw from Kevin Honn to put the visitors in front, 66-65, with 2:29 left. However, North Central came up empty on its final four trips down the court. The Scots scored the game's final points on a pair of free thros by Scott Nikodemski with 1:12 on the clock.

The game was hotly-contested from the start, featuring 11 ties and 13 lead changes. After trailing early, the Cardinals (2-3) outscored Alma, 11-1, over a two-minute stretch to pull ahead, 24-19, with 8:49 on the first-half clock. North Central came up big from behind the three-point arc during the surge, getting two triples from Jayme Moten and a third from Aiden Chang before Moten closed the rally with a layup. The Cardinals went into halftime with a 38-37 lead as Moten put up 17 points and five three-pointers. 

North Central opened the second half with a jumper from Sorenson and a three-point play by Raridon to extend its lead to 43-37. The hosts rallied and took their first lead of the second half at 56-55 on a three-point play by DJ Beckman with 7:42 left. After an inside basket by Sorenson, Beckman responded with a three-pointer before Sorenson scored twice in a row to pull ahead once again at 61-59, but Alma took advantage of a pair of Cardinal turnovers to score six points in 17 seconds before the guests made their final push.

Sorenson put up 18 points and eight rebounds, scoring 16 points on 8 of 9 shooting in the second half including 12 straight North Central points during a seven-minute stretch. Raridon grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and Jagger Anderson handed out a team-best five assists.

Beckman led all scorers with 27 points, while Trevor Gernaat put up 16, Nikodemski totaled 13 and Tyler Edwards scored 11 off the bench.

The Cardinals return home to host the No. 7-ranked University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Links to live audio and in-game statistics, as well as a live video broadcast by Naperville Community Television (NCTV), are available by clicking HERE.