Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Dec. 7, 2016 - On a night when it found most of its open looks from beyond the three-point arc, the North Central College men's basketball team had some difficulty finding the range Wednesday against Carthage College, ending a five-game homestand at Gregory Arena with a 85-75 loss to the Red Men.
With their opponent using a zone defense intent on closing off access to the paint, the Cardinals (4-2, 1-1 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) put up a single-game school-record 42 three-point attempts, but were able to make just 13 (31.0 percent). Carthage took advantage of the hosts' struggles and pulled in front for good with a 17-2 run early in the second half.
The Red Men led, 16-8, midway through the first half before North Central put together an 11-0 run, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from freshman guard
Nick Chambers, to take the lead. Carthage moved ahead oncd again late in the period, though the Cardinals quickly countered with a inside basket by
Connor Raridon and another triple from Chambers. Carthage's Mike Stevenson beat the buzzer with a three-pointer to cut the North Central lead to 32-31 at halftime.
With the score tied at 42-42 with 16:28 to play, the Red Men (5-2, 2-0 CCIW) launched the game's decisive run by netting six straight shots, including five from inside the paint. The lead stretched to its largest of the night at 59-44 on Brad Kruse's three-pointer with 11:08 remaining. Carthage made 17 of 29 shots from the field (58.6 percent) in the final 20 minutes.
Chambers knocked down six of 10 three-point shots and led the Cardinals with 18 points, while Raridon totaled 17 points and tied a North Central single-game record with 10 assists.
Jagger Anderson added 15 points in 14 minutes and
Alex Sorenson finished with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Carthage center Brad Perry led all scorers with 20 points, while Stevenson scored 19 and Jordan Thomas finished with 17.
The Cardinals travel to face Millikin University (0-7, 0-1) on Saturday. Tipoff at the Griswold Center is set for 7:00 p.m.
