Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Box Score
Jan. 5, 2019 - Regrouping at halftime after a first period during which little went right, the North Central College men's basketball team flipped the script on the Elmhurst College Bluejays over the final 20 minutes at Gregory Arena on Saturday, surging past the visitors to post its first victory of the 2019 calendar year, 82-70.
Coming into the game sharing first place in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) standings, Elmhurst made 9 of its first 13 shots from the floor, including 4 of 6 from three-point range, and owned a 22-9 advantage after eight minutes of play. A 7-0 run, including five points from Will Clausel, helped keep the Cardinals within shouting distance, and the hosts managed to close the gap to 26-24 following two free throws by Tommy Koth with 7:18 on the clock.
The Bluejays (9-5, 4-1 CCIW), however, went on to close the half on a 17-6 surge, and when Jake Rhode's buzzer-beating three-pointer connected from 45 feet away, the guests headed into halftime with a 43-30 lead having shot 56.7 percent (17 of 30) from the floor and 53.8 percent (7 of 13) from beyond the arc.
Koth knocked down a three on the first possession of the second half to begin a 15-2 run which lasted six minutes and culminated with three straight free throws from Blaise Meredith which tied the score at 45-45 with 14:03 remaining. Rhode responded quickly, breaking loose to knock down a jumper before feeding Jeremy Ireland for another. The brief surge kept Elmhurst in front until Clausel's two free throws with 9:17 to play gave the Cardinals a 52-51 edge, their first lead since the first possession of the evening. Connor Raridon drilled a three-pointer on the next trip down the floor, then fed Clausel for a triple from the top of the key to extend the lead to 58-51 and prompt a Bluejay timeout.
Rhode scored twice in the paint to leave Elmhurst with just a 60-55 deficit with 5:47 to go, but the Cardinals countered with a spinning inside jumper from Raridon and a layup by Koth after an offensive rebound by Mike Pollack to thwart the Bluejays' comeback effort. North Central led by at least seven points the rest of the way and pulled ahead by as many as 14, achieving 51.7 percent accuracy (15 of 29) from the floor in the second period while limiting the Bluejays to 31.0 percent shooting (9 of 29).
Raridon finished with 17 points and nine assists for the Cardinals (12-3, 4-2 CCIW), while Aaron Jones scored 16 points, Koth and Clausel each established new career highs with 14 apiece, and Meredith finished with 10. Matt Cappelletti claimed a game-high 12 rebounds.
Rhode led all scorers with 25 points while also handing out five assists. Ireland scored 12 points for the Bluejays.
North Central travels to face Illinois Wesleyan University (9-5, 2-3) on Wednesday. Tipoff at the Shirk Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
