Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
DE PERE, Wis. (Mar. 4, 2016) - Unable to shake itself free from foul trouble with which it was plagued all evening long, the North Central College men's basketball team saw its season come to an end Friday, losing by an 80-78 count to St. Olaf College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at the Schuldes Sports Center.
Called for 29 fouls and seeing three players foul out, the Cardinals still managed to hold the lead late in the contest before St. Olaf was finally able to pull ahead.
Despite the frequent whistleblowing, North Central's Connor Raridon was able to even the scales on the other end of the floor, getting to the free-throw line 14 times and making each one. He tied the Cardinals' single-game record for free-throw accuracy and led all scorers with 22 points.
The contest was tied eight times in the first 12 minutes before North Central put together a 6-0 run, including two free throws and a jumper from Raridon and a layup by Alex Sorenson, to move in front, 28-22, with 6:31 on the first-half clock. The Cardinals took their largest lead of the half at 40-31 following a putback from Erwin Henry before St. Olaf's Austin Korba scored the final four points of the period and cut the North Central halftime lead to 40-35.
After enduring a stretch which saw them called for five fouls in a span of 53 seconds, the Cardinals regrouped an extended their lead to its largest at 51-41 following a jumper from Raridon and two free throws from Henry with 13:58 to play. The Oles bounced back and tied the game on three occasions, the last of which came at 69-69. North Central fell behind, 72-69, before Raridon sank two free throws and fed Sorenson for a layup to nudge the Cardinals back in front, 73-72, with 1:41 remaining.
St. Olaf got an inside bucket from Ben Figini, which was countered at the other end of the floor by Sorenson. With 41.6 seconds to play, the Cardinals were whistled for their 15th foul of the period, which the Oles' Riley Aeikens used to sink two free throws which wound up giving St. Olaf the lead for good. After a missed three-pointer, the Cardinals were forced to foul to stop the clock, and the Oles' Justin Pahl made four straight from the line in the final 16 seconds to seal the win.
North Central had three other players in double figures, as Kevin Honn put up 14 points and Sorenson and Henry each finished with 12. Figini paced the Oles with 21 points, while Pahl scored 18 and Austin Majeskie finished with 16.
The Cardinals finish the 2015-2016 season with an overall record of 19-8, making a school single-season record 201 three-pointers during the campaign.
