Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
HOLLAND, Mich. (Dec. 21, 2022) - Showing its mettle in a hard-fought win away from home for the second straight game, the North Central College men's basketball imposed its will on Hope College early and sank the hosts' comeback effort in a 74-73 victory at DeVos Fieldhouse.
The Cardinals (6-5) used an early 10-0 run to gain a step on the Flying Dutch and led by as many as 13 in the second half before Hope (8-4) rallied to within a single point.
The Dutch had the ball on the final possession of the game, as Marcus Wourman drove the right side of the lane against North Central's John Blumeyer and lobbed a one-handed shot attempt. Blumeyer shadowed Wourman's drive, blocked the shot and rebounded the ball at the buzzer to secure the Cardinals' third road victory this season.
North Central came out firing from three-point range, as Brian Johnson and Matt Helwig knocked down triples before Ethan Helwig was fouled on a successful three-point attempt and made the following free throw for a four-point play and a 12-4 Cardinal advantage.
The Dutch rallied and took the lead at 30-28 following a three-point play by Tanner Wiegerink, but were held scoreless for the next three minutes. Matt Helwig's steal and layup tied the score at 30-30 before Jeff Hemmelgarn's layup from Shea Cupples nudged the visitors back in front. Matt Helwig converted a running one-hander over Hope's Brady Swinehart and Cupples sank two free throws before the Dutch scored again. North Central carried a 44-38 lead into halftime.
Leading, 46-42, early in the second period, the Cardinals launched their bid to end the game early. Cupples drove to the baseline and zipped a pass to Matt Helwig for a three-pointer, then grabbed a rebound and went end-to-end before finding Helwig again for three in the right corner.
Blumeyer grabbed an offensive rebound before feeding Ethan Helwig for a three from the left wing. Hope called for time out trailing, 55-42, with 13:15 to play.
Matt Helwig finished with game-high totals of 30 points and 10 rebounds, recording his second-highest single-game scoring output of the season to the 31 points scored at Aurora University Nov. 15. Mitch Lewis scored 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting in 11 minutes, while Cupples put up seven points and eight rebounds alongside a game-high five assists.
TJ McKenzie led four double-figure scorers with 19 points for Hope.
North Central is idle until Wednesday, Dec. 28, when it hosts Edgewood College (1-9). Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
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