Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Box Score

Jan. 28, 2021 - On a night when points proved hard to come by early on, the North Central College men's basketball team still found a way to keep its unbeaten record intact at Gregory Arena Thursday, erasing a six-point deficit in the final eight minutes and vanquishing the Augustana College Vikings, 71-62.

The Cardinals (3-0) trailed, 31-27, at halftime after shooting just 29 percent (9 of 31) from the floor and faced a 50-44 disadvantage when they called for a timeout with 8:00 on the clock. Michael Pollack knocked down a three-pointer after the break to cut the lead in half, and Pollack later sank two free throws to tie the score at 50-50 with 5:57 to play.

Matthew Helwig was fouled on a drive to the baskets and made both charity tosses to put the Cardinals in front, 52-50, before a layup by Matt Smietanski and another three from Pollack boosted North Central's lead to 57-50 and forced the Vikings to call time. Augustana (0-2) briefly closed the gap to 57-53, but an inside bucket by Smietanski, a layup by Will Clausel and two free throws from Shea Cupples gave the Cardinals their largest lead of the night at 63-53 with 1:04 left. 

Helwig made eight straight free throws in the final minute of play to preserve the win, capping off a night which saw him put up a season-high 20 points while also grabbing 11 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double. Smietanski established new career highs with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Pollack scored 13 points and Cupples contributed a team-high five assists. North Central's shooting improved to 44.4 percent (12 of 27) in the second half and the hosts made their final 15 attempts from the free-throw line.

Daniel Carr and Justin Bottorf each scored 16 points for the Vikings, while Carr also pulled down 11 rebounds. 
 
The teams will met again in Rock Island on Saturday. Tipoff at the Carver Center is set for 2:00 p.m. Click HERE for live coverage options.

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