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

Jan. 4, 2017 - A stumble out of the gate wound up costing the North Central College men's basketball team in its Wednesday night matchup with Augustana College, as the Vikings pulled ahead early and never trailed, defeating the Cardinals by a 82-71 count at Gregory Arena.

North Central (8-5, 2-2 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) was outscored, 12-4, in the first five minutes of the game and was forced to play catch-up from then on, searching all night for a sustained scoring rally which never materialized despite a stout effort from its bench. Cardinal reserves contributed 36 of the team's points.

Augustana led by as many as 11 points midway through the first half. The Cardinals put together a 7-0 surge, getting free throws from Jaquan Phipps, a three-pointer from Nick Chambers and a jump shot from Aiden Chang, to narrow the gap to 32-29, but the Vikings responded with a three and a pair of free throws from Chrishawn Orange to stay a step ahead.

The visitors carried a 42-37 advantage into halftime. North Central came within three points of the lead once again at 52-49, but the Vikings scored seven unanswered points in 1:15 and led by at least six points the rest of the way.

Erwin Henry led the Cardinals with 13 points, all of which came in the second half, while Tommy Koth put up a career-high 11 points and Matt Cappelletti finished with 10. Alex Sorenson grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. 

Orange led five double-figure scorers for Augustana (10-3, 3-1 CCIW) with 17 points, while Nolan Ebel finished with 16 and Pierson Wofford recorded a 11-point, 12-rebound double-double off the bench.

The Cardinals host No. 10-ranked North Park University (9-2, 2-2) on Saturday, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The Vikings lost, 82-76, to Carthage Wednesday.