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

Jan. 11, 2023 - In a physical, hard-fought battle common of the rivalry between the two institutions, the North Central College men's basketball team saw its four-game winning streak brought to a close by the No. 8-ranked Wheaton College Thunder Wednesday, 76-71, at Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals (8-6, 3-3 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) trailed for most of the contest but made a bid for the lead in the second half before Wheaton turned them away. Neither team held a double-digit advantage at any point in the game.

North Central attempted 10 more shots than the Thunder in the first half by forcing eight Wheaton turnovers while committing only one. Four turnovers were generated by Cardinal defenders taking charges, as Mitch Lewis, Terrance Moncrief, Shea Cupples and John Blumeyer each stepped into the path of an oncoming defender to draw a foul. The Thunder (13-2, 5-1 CCIW), however, made 15 of their 23 shots from the floor (65.2 percent) and took a 41-34 lead into halftime. 

After the break, Wheaton was limited to 34.8 percent shooting (8 of 23) and the Cardinals rallied to take the lead at 50-49 following a three-point play by Lewis and a pullup three-pointer on the fast break by Matt Helwig. The Thunder's Nick Schiavello made two free throws before a 15-foot jumper by Nick Smoldt put the hosts in front, 52-51, with 11:06 to play.

The one-point lead wound up being the Cardinals' last of the evening, as Schiavello and Eli Considine made consecutive three-pointers to put Wheaton back in front. North Central closed the gap to 61-59 on Blumeyer's jumper with 6:12 remaining, but was held scoreless for nearly three minutes thereafter. 

Lewis finished with a game-high 20 points on 8 of 11 shooting in 18 minutes, while Matt Helwig put up 19 points and seven rebounds. Ethan Helwig finished with a game-high nine boards along with nine points and two steals.

Tyson Cruikshank led four double-figure scorers with 16 points for Wheaton, which also got 14 points from Schiavello and Andrew Williams and 11 from Considine.

The Cardinals host Millikin University (8-8, 1-6) Saturday at 4:15 p.m.

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