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

Dec. 28, 2022 - After posting two straight close victories on the road, the North Central College men's basketball team returned to Gregory Arena for the first time in nearly four weeks Wednesday, defeating the Edgewood College Eagles, 80-71.

The Cardinals (7-5) enjoyed 63.2 percent accuracy (12 of 19) from three-point range, the seventh-highest in a single game in program history and the highest by any North Central team since the 2015-2016 season.

The hosts needed its efforts from the perimeter to counterbalance Edgewood senior forward Jake Schroeckenthaler, who finished with game-high totals of 29 points and 14 rebounds. Eagle guard Trey Traeder scored eight straight points in the early going to give the visitors a 17-8 lead after five minutes of play.

Regrouping after a timeout, the Cardinals scored 11 of the next 13 points and tied the score at 19-19 on Matt Helwig's pullup jumper. Mitch Lewis, who totaled 15 points and 13 rebounds in just 17 minutes off the bench, scored seven straight points in 1:10 to give North Central the lead at 33-30 with 3:01 on the clock and the hosts carried a 37-34 lead into halftime. 

With the score tied at 57-57 with 8:06 to play, North Central moved in front for good as Ethan Helwig buried a three-pointer and Matt Helwig shrugged off a stubborn defender for another triple to give the Cardinals a 63-57 advantage. Edgewood was held scoreless for a two-minute stretch late in the contest, allowing the hosts to take their largest lead on Lewis' putback of his own missed layup at 72-63. North Central led by at least five points the rest of the way.

Matt Helwig finished with 26 points on 9 of 15 shooting, including a 4 of 5 effort from beyond the three-point arc, while Ethan Helwig scored 13 points and connected on 3 of 6 three-point attempts. Matt Helwig also led the Cardinals with four assists while John Blumeyer recorded three steals.

The Cardinals are idle until Wednesday, Jan. 4, when they resume College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play at Augustana College. Tipoff at the Carver Center is set for 7:00 p.m.

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