Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Box Score
Feb. 6, 2019 - Coming out on the short end of the final score for the first time in more than a month, the North Central College men's basketball team saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday, as the 13th-ranked Cardinals absorbed a 72-64 setback at the hands of Illinois Wesleyan University at Gregory Arena.
The back-and-forth affair was decided in the final five minutes, as the Cardinals (18-4, 10-3 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) were held without a field goal for the final 4:34, marking their first loss this season in a game in which they held the lead at halftime.
Wednesday's first half featured eight ties and five lead changes. With the score knotted at 27-27, North Central got a jumper from Connor Raridon and a three-pointer from Tommy Koth to pull in front by five points. The Titans closed the gap to two points with less than a minute before halftime, but Koth delivered again from long range to extend the hosts' lead to 36-31 at the break. Koth led all scorers with 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting (4 of 6 three-pointers) in the opening 20 minutes.
IWU's Jason Gregoire opened the second period with a three of his own, igniting a 13-3 run which saw the Titans (14-8, 7-6 CCIW) take a 44-38 lead following three-pointers by Colin Bonnett and Doug Wallen. The visitors saw their lead whittled down to 60-59 with 5:55 to play, but scored four straight points from the free-throw line in 24 seconds pull ahead by five once again.
Matt Cappelletti sank a three-pointer to leave North Central with just a two-point disadvantage (64-62) with 4:34 to play. Wallen came up with a steal and layup before two free throws by Koth left the score at 66-64 in the Titans' favor with 1:26 to play. Gregoire drove the lane for a layup on the next Titan possession, and a pair of Cardinal shot attempts on the other end were off the mark. IWU sealed the evening's outcome by making 4 of 4 free throws in the final 25 seconds.
Koth finished with 24 points, two short of the career-high 26 he scored at Illinois Wesleyan on Jan. 9, while also totaling six rebounds and three steals. Cappelletti put up 11 points and seven rebounds while Connor Raridon grabbed a team-best eight boards.
Brady Rose paced the Titans with 16 points and Wallen compiled 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Cardinals close out the home portion of their regular-season schedule on Saturday, hosting Wheaton College at 7:00 p.m. Senior Night festivities will be observed prior to tipoff.
