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

Box Score

OLIVET, Mich. (Dec. 22, 2021) - Prevailing for the fifth time in six road games in the young season, the North Central College men's basketball team took control with a strong second-half run Wednesday and defeated the homestanding Olivet College Comets, 88-70.

Trailing, 54-50, with 14:47 to play, North Central seniors Matthew Helwig and Blaise Meredith took matters into their own hands and co-authored a 19-3 scoring run that spanned just more than five minutes. Helwig scored 11 points and Meredith provided eight on cominbed 8 of 11 shooting as the Cardinals pulled ahead, 69-57, and was unchallenged the rest of the way.

During the same stretch, the Comets (3-5) shot just 1 of 11 from the floor and 1 of 8 from three-point range. North Central's defense, geared toward keeping Olivet from penetrating with the dribble, limited the hosts to 38 percent shooting accuracy and a 9 of 31 effort from beyond the arc.

The Cardinals (7-3) threatened to run away with the contest in the first half, as James Ruzicka converted two straight inside baskets to spark a 10-2 run that gave the visitors a 37-22 advantage with 5:36 left in the period. Olivet's Dane Vos, however, scored six straight points late in the half and Tevin Ali tipped in a final bucket to slash the Cardinals' lead to 39-37 at the break.

As has been its custom this season, North Central was led in scoring by the efforts of Matthew and Ethan Helwig, whose combined 63 points matches their season-high effort in a 137-108 victory over Greenville University Nov. 13. Matthew Helwig narrowly missed a career high with 41 points on 14 of 22 shooting, enjoying 8 of 10 accuracy from three-point range. Ethan Helwig, meanwhile, netted 22 points on 9 of 14 shooting from the floor.

Blaise Meredith made 6 of 9 field goals for 14 points, leaving him 36 points from becoming the program's 29th 1,000-point scorer. Ruzicka grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and John Blumeyer led the Cardinals with four assists. 

The Cardinals travel to Orlando, Florida for the RDV Sportsplex Classic Dec. 28-29, taking Hope College (Michigan) and Central College (Iowa). 

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