Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (Feb. 26, 2016) - A second-half rally came up just short for the North Central College men's basketball team on Friday, as the Cardinals were dealt a 60-58 defeat by Elmhurst College in the semifinals of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament at Augustana College's Carver Center.
The 11th-ranked Cardinals (19-7) erased a 10-point deficit in the second half and briefly led near the end of the contest, but came up empty on two possessions in the final minute of play and lost to the 17th-ranked Bluejays (21-5) for the first time in three meetings this season.
Elmhurst grabbed 17 offensive rebounds in the game, four of which came on the evening's opening possession. The score was tied eight times in the first 12 minutes before the Bluejays strung together six straight points to pull ahead. Elmhurst led by as many as eight points late in the opening period and carried a 34-28 advantage into halftime. North Central limited the Bluejays to 38.2 percent shooting (13 of 34) from the floor in the first 20 minutes but was handicapped by a 23-13 rebounding disadvantage, including an 11-3 gap on the offensive glass.
Trailing, 46-36, with 12:22 to play, the Cardinals fashioned a 9-2 run, including a pair of jumpers from Jayme Moten, to cut the lead to 48-45. A bucket by Elmhurst's Pat Coleman was countered by two straight buckets by Alex Sorenson to leave the score at 50-49 in the Bluejays' favor with 6:19 on the clock.
Elmhurst got a three-pointer from Kyle Wuest and an inside basket from Will Nixon to give itself some breathing room, but the Bluejays went scoreless for more than three minutes thereafter, during which time North Central scored seven straight points to take a 56-55 lead with 3:18 left. All seven of the Cardinals' points in the rally came from Kevin Honn, who put his team in front with a three-point play.
The teams then traded baskets, as Wuest and the Cardinals' Jagger Anderson scored on consecutive possessions, before Nixon delivered what turned out to be the game-winning score by converting a three-point play with 53 seconds to go. After a turnover on its next possession, North Central got one final chance by rebounding a missed three-pointer. The Cardinals got a look just before the buzzer, but the shot was off the mark.
Sorenson finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots to lead the Cardinals, while Connor Raridon totaled 11 points and Honn scored 10. Nixon paced Elmhurst with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Pairings and host sites for the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship will be announced on Monday at 11:30 a.m. Central time at ncaa.com.
