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

WHEATON, Ill. (Jan. 18, 2017) - Negating a slow shooting performance with hustle and determination, the North Central College men's basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 86-82 double-overtime over archrival Wheaton College at King Arena.

The Cardinals (9-7, 3-4 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) connected on just 29 of 80 field-goal attempts (36.3 percent) in the contest, but collected a single-game school-record 57 rebounds and recorded 12 steals and negated a late second-half deficit to get back into the win column for the first time in 2017.

Wednesday's contest saw 13 ties and 15 lead changes. After trailing by as many as eight points midway through the first half, the Cardinals put together a 11-2 run, capped off by back-to-back layups from Matt Cappelletti and Alex Sorenson, to take the lead at 24-23. Wheaton (7-9, 3-4 CCIW) rallied and took a 32-31 lead following two free throws by Jake Hlagen with 1:04 on the clock, but Aiden Chang's three-pointer on the following possession sent North Central into halftime with a 34-32 advantage.

After yielding the opening score of the second half, the Thunder scored eight straight points to pull in front, 40-36. North Central regained the lead at 43-41 when Chang sank a fast-break three-pointer, but the hosts countered with a 8-2 run to lead, 49-45, with 7:52 left. The Cardinals got a layup from Cappelletti and a three-point play from Chang to lead once again at 50-49 before consecutive three-pointers by Aston Francis and Spencer Peterson provided Wheaton with a 55-50 advantage with 4:50 to play.

North Central trailed, 62-60, with less than a minute to play, but took the lead once again when Tommy Koth knocked down a three with 38 seconds left. Erwin Henry connected on a pair of free throws with 21.2 seconds on the clock to extend the Cardinals' lead to 65-62, but Peterson tied the score with a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining to force the first overtime period.

The Cardinals threatened to put the game away in the first extra session, owning a 71-68 lead following Sorenson's inside jumper with 1:43 to play, but Wheaton got a basket in the lane from Luke Peters and a free throw from Hlagan to knot the score at 71-71. North Central had an opportunity to beat the buzzer and close the game out, but Jaquan Phipps' layup was off the mark as time expired. 

North Central never trailed in the second overtime, getting a pair of free throws from Sorenson and a steal and layup from Koth in the first 28 seconds and leading by at least three points the rest of the way. The Cardinals made 7 of 10 free throws in the final 1:06 to close out the win.

Sorenson finished with 23 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Chang finished 19 points, while Cappelletti turned in a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double in his first collegiate start and Koth totaled 12 points and career highs of eight assists and four steals. 

Francis paced the Thunder with 24 points, seven rebounds and six steals, while Peterson scored 13 points and Hlagan finished with 12.

North Central travels to face Elmhurst College (5-11, 1-6) on Saturday. The Bluejays lost a 85-69 home decision to Augustana College on Wednesday. Tipoff at R.A. Faganel Hall is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.