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

Dec. 17, 2016 - A chance to post a win in the final home game of 2016 was thwarted by an early second-half run on Saturday, as Robert Morris University-Chicago came out of halftime with a 12-2 run and defeated the Cardinals, 77-70, at Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals (6-3) headed into the break trailing by just a 34-33 count after wiping out a seven-point deficit in the final two minutes. A three-pointer by Aiden Chang, a free throw from Jagger Anderson and two inside baskets by Alex Sorenson netted North Central a 33-32 lead, but the Eagles closed the half with a layup by Darius Randolph to put the visitors in front at the break.

Once play resumed, Robert Morris (9-4) forced turnovers on the Cardinals' first three possessions, converting each into fast-break baskets and prompting a North Central timeout. A jumper by Sorenson out of the stoppage slowed the rally, but the Eagles followed with five points in 37 seconds to take their first double-digit lead at 45-35 and eventually extended their advantage to 54-39 with 15:00 remaining.

North Central clawed its way back into contention with a 9-2 run featuring three buckets from Erwin Henry and a three-pointer by Matt Cappelletti, but the Eagles countered by outscoring the hosts, 12-3, over a five-minute stretch to take their largest lead at 68-51 with 6:28 left. The Cardinals' last-ditch comeback effort got them no closer than seven points.

Henry led all scorers with a season-high 23 points, while Nick Chambers scored 11 and Cappelletti finished with 10. Jack Bronec totaled eight points and a team-high nine rebounds and Chang led the team with four assists.

Darius Paul put up 20 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Eagles, who also got 11 points and eight rebounds from Randolph.

The Cardinals travel to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, next week for the Cruzin Classic, playing 23rd-ranked Wartburg College (Iowa) on Tuesday and Wheaton College (Massachusetts) on Wednesday at the Broward County Convention Center. Both games are scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.