Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Box Score
Nov. 11, 2021 - Taking the Gregory Arena court in front of a live audience for the first time in 613 days, the North Central College men's basketball team faced an aggressive California Lutheran University full-court press in Wednesday's season opener, coming out on the short end of an 80-79 count in a back-and-forth contest.
The Cardinals were hassled into 21 turnovers by the pressing, trapping Kingsmen, who were taking part in their first game since the end of the 2019-2020 campaign. North Central was, however, able to hold the visitors scoreless for the first six minutes and led by as many as nine points before taking a 35-30 advantage at halftime. The lead stretched to its largest at 47-34 with 15:49 to play after a run of seven straight points by Matt Helwig.
Cal Lutheran put together a 19-5 surge over the next four minutes, moving into the lead, 53-52, after Mason Johnson came up with a steal and fed Jake Martin for a three-pointer with 11:19 left. The lead changed hands seven times in the next nine minutes before the Cardinals made their bid to put the game away with an inside jumper by James Ruzicka and a pair of free throws from Blaise Meredith which left the score at 76-72 in the hosts' favor with 1:30 on the clock.
Johnson responded with a three-pointer on the next possession, but Meredith countered with a triple of his own on the next trip down the floor. Logan McCullough's three-pointer brought the Kingsmen within a single point with just under a minute left, and the visitors got a defensive stop before Johnson got fouled and made both free throws with 5.3 seconds to play.
Helwig put up 21 points and eight rebounds for the Cardinals, while Meredith finished with 17 points, nine boards and three blocked shots. Ethan Helwig made his North Central debut with 10 points and Shea Cupples contributed a game-high eight assists.
Johnson matched Helwig for game-high scoring honors with 21 points while also contributing eight rebounds and six assists. Jacob Alonzo scored 16 points and Martin added 12.
The Cardinals will face another fierce full-court defensive scheme Saturday, traveling to face Greenville University. North Central won a 122-103 decision over the Panthers early in the 2019-2020 season, the most recent meeting between the two teams. Tipoff at H.J. Long Gymnasium is set for 4:00 p.m.
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