Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
HONOLULU (Nov. 24, 2017) - Playing catch-up all night after a slow start, the North Central College men's basketball team absorbed a 75-72 loss in its first game in the Hoops in Hawaii Classic Friday evening against Whitworth University (Washington).
The Cardinals (1-2) trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half but rallied to take the lead briefly late in the contest before Whitworth nudged itself ahead one final time in the last two minutes of play at Moanalua High School.
The Pirates (4-0) opened play by scoring nine of the game's first 10 points. Alex Sorenson scored in the paint for the Cardinals before Erwin Henry scored seven straight points to get North Central untracked. Whitworth, however, scored the next eight points to remain in control, and led by a 44-32 count with 2:16 on the clock before the Cardinals scored the final six points of the half on a pair of baskets by Blaise Meredith and a putback by Connor Raridon to cut the lead to 44-38 at halftime.
An 8-2 run early in the second period, capped off by a Meredith three-pointer, tied the score at 51-51 with 15:17 to play, but Whitworth countered with a jumper by Ben College and a layup by Jordan Lester off a steal by Kyle Roach. Trailing, 68-61, with 5:14 to play, the Cardinals made one final comeback bid, beginning with two free throws by Raridon. Meredith converted a layup off a steal by Henry, then collected rebounds on two straight possessions which led to buckets by Alex Sorenson on the other end of the floor, giving North Central a 69-68 advantage with 2:29 to play.
Whitworth's Ben Bishop, however, converted a three-point play on the next trip down the floor, and the Pirates halted North Central on two straight possessions before sealing the victory with two free throws by Lester.
Sorenson finished with 19 points on 9 of 13 shooting and blocked three shots for the Cardinals, while Meredith scored 17 points and Henry totaled 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Roach led all scorers with 22 points, 18 of which came in the first half.
North Central closes out play in Honolulu on Saturday, taking on Lewis & Clark College (Oregon) at 8:00 p.m. Hawaii time (midnight Central).
