Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Box Score
Feb. 9, 2019 - An ill-timed offensive drought allowed a hard-fought game to get away from the North Central College men's basketball team Saturday evening, as the Cardinals' Senior Night celebration was dampened with an 82-71 loss to Wheaton College at Gregory Arena.
After a nine-point second-half lead was erased and the Thunder pulled in front, 64-60, with seven minutes to go, North Central (18-5, 10-4 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) put together a 7-0 run financed solely by Matt Cappelletti. The junior knocked down a three-pointer and a pair of free throws before beating the Wheaton defense down the court for a fast-break layup with 5:33 to go. The surge, which spanned just over a minute, put the hosts back in front, 67-64, and prompted a Wheaton timeout.
The Cardinals, however, went without a field goal until less than a minute remained, missing seven straight shots from the floor as the visitors scored 13 straight points down the stretch to put the contest away. North Central struggled offensively throughout the second half, managing just 26.9 percent accuracy (7 of 26) from the field.
Wheaton (17-7, 10-5 CCIW) threatened to make quick work of the Cardinals as senior guard Aston Francis, who entered the game as the NCAA Division III national leader in scoring (31.7 points per game) scored 14 points in a 16-6 run over the first four minutes of play. North Central regrouped and steadily whittled the lead down, eventually taking the lead at 22-21 following three-pointers by Connor Raridon, Aaron Jones and Mike Pollack.
The Thunder were able to knot the score at 29-29 on a Francis three with 6:13 on the clock, but Cappelletti returned fire from long range on the other end, then struck again from beyond the arc a minute later. North Central led by as many as eight points late in the opening period and ultimately took a 42-36 lead into halftime after Jones beat the buzzer with a three-pointer.
The Cardinals' lead reached its largest with 15:28 to go, as Jones buckled a Wheaton defender's knees with a crossover dribble and knocked down an 18-foot jumper to leave the score at 48-39. A 13-2 run enabled the Thunder to take their first lead of the second period at 54-52 with 10:59 to play, and the lead changed hands four more times before Wheaton's decisive run.
Cappelletti led the Cardinals with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Raridon finished with 19 points, Jones scored 17 and Will Clausel finished with 11.
Francis closed out the night with 49 points on 17 of 27 shooting, including a 10 for 19 effort from three-point range. Luke Anthony put up 13 points off the bench and Luke Peters totaled 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Wheaton.
North Central travels to face Carthage College (8-15, 3-11) on Wednesday. Tipoff at Tarble Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
