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

Box Score

DECATUR, Ill. (Feb. 13, 2021) - On a day in which it struggled mightily on offense, the North Central College men's basketball team still managed to keep itself in contention in Saturday's game at Millikin University until the hosts pulled away late to defeat the Cardinals, 59-45, at the Griswold Center.

The Cardinals (4-3) shot just 29.4 percent (15 of 51) from the floor in the contest, but through dogged defense the guests were still able to manage a 26-22 halftime lead. North Central kept the Big Blue from converting a field goal for the final 3:57 of the first period, getting a three-pointer from Blaise Meredith and a steal and layup by Matthew Helwig to pull in front before time ran out. 

A 7-0 surge, highlighted by a quartet of free throws by Andy McLaughlin and a three-pointer by Shea Cupples, gave the Cardinals their largest lead of the day at 35-29 with 13:01 to play. North Central, however, missed seven of its next eight shots from the floor as the Big Blue (1-6) embarked on what would be a game-clinching 18-4 scoring run spanning eight minutes and took a 47-39 lead. The hosts made 8 of 8 free throws in the final 1:16 to seal the victory as North Central was off the mark on 8 of its final 10 field-goal attempts.

Meredith led the Cardinals with 11 points, including a 3 for 7 effort from three-point range, while Will Clausel finished with nine. Millikin's Calvin Fisher led all scorers with 31 points while also grabbing 11 rebounds. Fisher scored 23 of the Big Blue's 37 points in the decisive second half.
 
North Central travels to face Carthage College (3-2) on Thursday. Tipoff at Tarble Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Click HERE for live coverage options.

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