Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Feb. 14, 2018 - After appearing to be well clear of its opponent with a large second-half lead, the North Central College men's basketball team was unable to withstand a furious Carroll University comeback at Gregory Arena Wednesday, as the Cardinals wound up on the short end of a 77-73 count in overtime in their final home game of the 2017-2018 campaign.
North Central (16-7, 9-5 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) held the Pioneers scoreless for the first five minutes of play and led throughout the first half, extending its advantage to as many as 19 points before the visitors scored six points in the final 1:18 of the period to narrow the gap to 40-27 at the break. The Cardinals shot 57.7 percent (15 of 26) from the floor in the first half, getting 11 points off the bench from Mike Pollack.
The lead extended to its largest at 51-30 early in the second half after three straight North Central three-pointers, two from Matt Cappelletti and another from Aiden Chang. The hosts still owned a 65-51 advantage with 5:28 to play following a pair of inside baskets by Alex Sorenson when Carroll (10-13, 6-8 CCIW) began its comeback in earnest, scoring the next eight points to trail by just six at 65-59 with 2:46 left.
The Pioneers got a fast-break layup from Nick Penny to cut the deficit to 67-63. Sorenson connected on a jumper with just under a minute left, but Carroll's Troy Howat knocked down a three-pointer to make it a one-possession game at 69-66. After two empty North Central possessions, Carroll leveled the score at 69-69 on Kale Maupin's three-pointer with eight seconds left and forced the game into overtime.
With the score tied at 73-73, Carroll's Joel Heesch drove the lane for a layup with 13 seconds remaining in the extra session, which wound up being the game-winner. Tanner Zaeske sealed the win with two free throws on separate trips to the line.
Sorenson finished with a game-high 21 points along with eight rebounds and four blocked shots, while Chang put up 13 points and seven assists, both of which are season highs. Pollack finished with 12 points and Cappelletti put up 10 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. With eight made three-pointers in the game, the Cardinals now have 211 triples for the season, breaking last year's single-season school record of 210.
Zaeske led Carroll with 16 points, while Howat scored 14 and Heesch finished with 13.
The Cardinals travel to face Wheaton College (17-6, 10-4) on Saturday. Tipoff at King Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
