Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Box Score
DECATUR, Ill. (Jan. 23, 2019) - On a night when the three-point shot was a dynamic weapon for both teams, one might have predicted that the team which had the ball last would be victorious in the North Central College men's basketball team's contest at Millikin University Wednesday evening.
The teams combined to sink 27 shots from beyond the arc in the game, the last of which left Cardinal guard Mike Pollack's hand from the left wing just before the buzzer sounded in overtime, lifting the visitors to a 93-92 victory at the Griswold Center.
Pollack was fed the ball for the game-winner by guard Aaron Jones, who enjoyed his finest performance yet in a North Central uniform with 28 points (including a 7 of 10 effort from three-point range) and five assists. Jones connected on a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in regulation play to tie the score at 82-82 after the Cardinals (16-3, 8-2 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) had trailed by as many as five points in the final minute.
The lead changed hands four times in the overtime period before Pollack hit from three-point range to tie the score at 90-90 with 1:57 on the clock. Millikin's Jordan Cunningham scored in the paint to nudge the hosts in front with 1:33 to play, then grabbed what appeared to be a key rebound following two missed threes by the Cardinals. The Big Blue, however, turned the ball over on a shot-clock violation with 5.8 seconds to play after a blocked shot by Matt Cappelletti, setting the stage for Pollack's heroics.
The Big Blue (10-8, 4-6 CCIW), whose 55.7 percent shooting from the floor (34 of 61) was better than all but one Cardinal opponent this season, threatened to pull away in the first half, owning a 34-25 advantage with 6:51 to go. After calling a timeout, North Central bounced back to close the half with a 20-5 run, scoring six unanswered points in the final 1:47 and taking a 45-40 halftime lead after Blaise Meredith's layup found its target just before time ran out.
The Cardinals took their largest lead of the night at 50-43 early in the second period, but a run of six straight points by Zach Fisher got Millikin going and a Jack Marinko three-pointer with 13:05 to play capped a 12-4 run that put the hosts back in front, 55-54. A driving layup by Meredith briefly grabbed the lead back for North Central, but a layup by Cunningham and a three by Calvin Fisher in a 33-second span put the Big Blue ahead once again. The lead reached as many as seven points down the stretch, and Millikin still held a 79-74 edge following a pair of free throws by Calvin Fisher with 42.7 seconds on the clock.
Jones drove the lane for a layup with 33.5 seconds on the clock, then connected for three points after Cappelletti and Tommy Koth grabbed offensive rebounds on the same possession to close the gap to 80-79 with 8.5 seconds left. Calvin Fisher was fouled to stop the clock and made both charity shots before Jones' heave from the right wing became the second of three buzzer-beating shots the Cardinals would hit in the game.
North Central made 17 three-point shots in 34 attempts, tying the program's single-game record for three-pointers made which was set on Jan. 24 of last season at home against Millikin, and shot 54.0 percent (34 of 63) from the floor overall. Cappelletti finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Connor Raridon totaled 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Meredith also tallied 13 points and two blocks and Pollack contributed 11 points.
Calvin Fisher netted a game-high 32 points on 10 of 13 shooting (6 of 7 three-pointers) for the Big Blue, who also got 18 points from Zach Fisher and 15 from Elijah Henry.
The Cardinals conclude a stretch of three straight road games on Saturday, traveling to Chicago to face North Park University (4-15, 2-8). Tipoff at the North Park Gymnasium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
