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

HANOVER, Ind. (Mar. 4, 2017) - A game of runs came down to a decisive scoring surge in the final 10 minutes of play Saturday evening, as the North Central College men's basketball team saw its season come to a close with a 64-63 loss to Hanover College in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship at Collier Arena.

The Cardinals led, 50-45, midway through the second half before Hanover embark on a 15-4 run over the next eight minutes as North Central endured an ill-timed dry spell, missing eight of 10 shots from the floor during the same span. 

Trailing by just a 62-60 deficit in the final seconds, the Cardinals had one final attempt to tie the score, but Erwin Henry's baseline jumper was off the mark. Hanover's Wes McKinney was fouled with 0.5 seconds on the clock and made both free throws, keeping the Panthers clear even after Aiden Chang's buzzer-beating three-pointer.

The Panthers (25-3) opened the game with a 10-3 run, which was promptly answered by a 7-2 North Central surge. A 7-0 run gave Hanover its largest lead of the game at 24-15, though the Cardinals countered with nine straight points of their own to tie the contest at 24-24. Henry sparked the rally, scoring twice in the lane and assisting Nick Chambers on a three-pointer.

Henry gave the Cardinals their first lead with a free throw to leave the score at 27-26 with 3:47 on the first-half clock, and the lead changed hands three more times before Alex Sorenson's tip-in tied the contest at 31-31. Chambers closed the period by knocking down a three from the left corner, sending North Central into halftime with a 34-31 advantage.

Hanover's Corey Muchmore scored five straight points coming out of the break, which the Cardinals answered with a post-up bucket by Sorenson, a three-pointer from Matt Cappelletti and a steal and layup by Jagger Anderson. Just as quickly, the Panthers fashioned a 7-2 run, including five points by Cam Fails, but Cappelletti and Anderson punched back with another three and a layup, respectively, giving the Cardinals a 48-43 edge with 12:08 to play.

The Panthers began the rally which would decide the outcome shortly after a media timeout with 7:54 to play. Muchmore backed his way into the post for a basket, and Logan Ratts and Colin Smith followed with consecutive layups to give the hosts the lead for good.

Sorenson finished with 20 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots, all of which were game highs. Cappelletti scored 12 points, while Henry totaled 11 and Anderson scored 10. 

McKinney led Hanover with 18 points, while Muchmore totaled 17 points and nine boards.

The Cardinals close the 2016-2017 campaign with an overall record of 18-11.