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

ELMHURST, Ill. (Jan. 21, 2017) - A dry spell of just over two minutes wound up being enough to cost the North Central College men's basketball team a second consecutive win on Saturday, as the Cardinals suffered a 87-78 setback against the Elmhurst College Bluejays at R.A. Faganel Hall.

North Central (9-8, 3-5 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) erased a first-half deficit of as much as 11 points and owned a 58-55 lead with 10:51 to play before surrendering 12 straight points to the hosts, which wound up being the decisive rally of the contest.

The Cardinals owned a slim 9-8 advantage in the first half before Elmhurst outscored the visitors, 17-6, over a five-minute stretch and took a 25-14 advantage with 9:53 left before halftime. The Bluejays led by a 30-19 count when Matt Cappelletti's three-pointer from the left wing ignited North Central's biggest scoring run of the afternoon, a 17-2 surge which put the Cardinals in front, 36-32. Cappelletti also closed out the rally with a pair of free throws with 2:54 on the clock. North Central ended up taking a 41-37 advantage into the break.

The Bluejays (6-11, 2-6 CCIW) scored the first six points of the second half to pull ahead, leading until Aiden Chang scored twice and assisted Alex Sorenson on a third basket in a span of 1:43 to nudge the guests in front once again, 50-48. The lead changed hands on each of the next four baskets before Sorenson scored in the post and Cappelletti made two free throws, and Erwin Henry's 15-foot jumper off an assist from Sorenson left the score at 58-55 in the Cardinals' favor with 11:08 to play.

Elmhurst snatched the lead back after two straight three-pointers by Derek Dotlich and kept the pressure on until it owned a 67-58 advantage with 8:27 left. The Cardinals narrowed the gap to two points at 73-71 on an inside shot by Sorenson, but Marquis Carter delivered a three on the next trip down the floor to keep North Central at bay.

Sorenson finished with a team-high 19 points on 9 of 16 shooting, while Henry scored 16, Cappelletti finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Chang totaled 13 points and seven assists. Dotlich led all scorers with 23 points for Elmhurst.

The Cardinals host Millikin University (3-13, 1-6) on Wednesday at Gregory Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.