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

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Feb. 26: Semifinal Round - No. 2 seed North Central College Cardinals (19-6) vs. No. 3 seed Elmhurst College Bluejays (20-5)
Tipoff: 5 p.m., Carver Center
Video: portal.stretchinternet.com/augustana/
Radio: 89.1-FM WONC
Live Stats: www.augustana.edu/athletics/mbasketball/xlive.htm

Setting the Scene: After closing the regular season on a hot streak, the Cardinals look to advance to a fourth CCIW Tournament final with a third win this season over Elmhurst.

National Rankings: North Central is ranked No. 11 and Elmhurst is ranked No. 17 in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll.

CCIW Tournament Schedule: Friday's second semifinal between No. 1 seed Augustana College and No. 4 seed Illinois Wesleyan University is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 p.m. The two semifinal winners will meet in Saturday's championship game at 7:00 p.m., also at the Carver Center.

Series History: Friday's game marks the 156th men's basketball meeting between the two schools. North Central holds a 94-61 lead in the all-time series and won both regular-season encounters in 2016.

The Cardinals posted a 80-62 victory in Naperville Jan. 23, taking the lead for good with a 13-2 run late in the first half and shooting 57.7 percent (15 of 26) from the floor in the second period. All five starters scored in double figures, led by Jagger Anderson's 20 points and Alex Sorenson's 19.

North Central achieved a 79-64 win on the Bluejays' home floor Feb. 13, limiting Elmhurst to 31.9 percent shooting (23 of 72) and taking control with a 14-4 second-half run. Erwin Henry poured in a career-high 28 points.

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central is on a four-game winning streak for the fourth time this season after finishing the regular season with three straight road wins, most recently an 84-74 victory at North Park on Saturday.

The Cardinals' Kevin Honn came off the bench and ripped the nets for a career-high 29 points, 26 of which came in the second half. He scored 12 points in a 16-2 run which put North Central in front for good.

North Central enters the tournament having won nine of its past 10 games, outscoring opponents by nearly 15 points per game. Six Cardinals have averaged double figures in scoring during that span, led by Sorenson's 15.1 points per game, while Honn ranks second with 13.6 ppg on 63.6 percent shooting from the floor.

Strength of Schedule: The Cardinals have played the toughest schedule of any Division III team in the country this season, according to the NCAA's strength-of-schedule ratings. North Central has played eight games against nationally-ranked teams, owning a 4-4 record in those contests

All-CCIW Selections: North Central has three representatives on this year's All-CCIW Teams, as announced by the conference on Monday.

Sorenson was a unanimous selection to the All-CCIW First Team, while Connor Raridon was voted to the Second Team and Jayme Moten made the Third Team. Raridon was also named the CCIW's Freshman of the Year, making him the first North Central player to win the award since its inception in 2013.

North Central in the CCIW Tournament: The Cardinals are 6-4 all-time in the CCIW's postseason tournament, which was first played in 2006. North Central has won the event three times (2006, 2012, 2013) and is the only CCIW team to win more than once as the No. 2 seed (2006, 2013).

The Cardinals' only encounter with Elmhurst in the tournament was in the very first CCIW Tournament game in 2006, a 67-57 win over the Bluejays.

Career Rankings: Jayme Moten is ranked sixth in the Cardinals' history with 149 career three-pointers and needs four more to tie Mike Kulbeda '02 and Ray Vicario '06 for fourth all-time. His 82 made three-pointers last season established the current North Central single-season record.

Single-Season Rankings: Sorenson has already established a new North Central single-season record with 55 blocked shots. The previous record of 45 had been held by Louis Davis since the 2000-01 season. Connor Raridon and Jagger Anderson currently rank fourth (103) and eighth (96), respectively, on the Cardinals' all-time single-season list for assists, while Jayme Moten ranks fifth in three-pointers made (67).

Coaching Milestone: North Central head coach Todd Raridon became the program's all-time leader in coaching victories on Feb. 10 with a 95-77 win at Carthage. He has presided over 207 wins with the Cardinals, breaking the previous record of 204 set by Bill Warden '55 from 1981-97. Raridon, who owns 475 total wins in his career, has also won a school-record 64.9 percent of his games with the Cardinals.