Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
CHICAGO (Jan. 21, 2023) - Unable to solve its opponent's pressure defense long enough to gain an advantage, the North Central College men's basketball team was subdued, 79-65, by North Park University in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) competition Saturday.
Forcing 22 turnovers and converting them into 27 points, the Vikings (14-4, 7-2 CCIW) owned a 42-34 lead by halftime. The hosts repelled a North Central comeback effort which narrowed the lead to just two points before pulling away in the final few minutes.
The Cardinals (10-7, 5-4) set a new program record for the most free throws made in a single game without a miss, connecting on all 17 of their charity shots. North Central made 10 of 10 free throws in a 97-68 victory over Carthage College Jan. 20, 2016.
North Central trailed by as many as 14 points in the first period before rallying to close the gap to 40-34 after Mitch Lewis sank a jump shot, fed Matt Helwig for a layup and converted a pair of free throws in a 43-second span. The Vikings, however, ended the half on a high note as Shamar Pumphrey scored on a layup as time expired.
Trailing, 54-44, midway through the second period, the Cardinals staged a rally as Helwig's steal led to a layup by Lewis, who subsequently scored on a cutback of his own miss and another driving layup with 11:10 to play which cut the North Park lead to 54-50. Nick Smoldt's pull-up jumper in the line banked in off the glass with 10:11 left, leaving just a two-point deficit at 54-52.
North Park's Kolden VanLandingham pulled up for two on the next trip down the floor and Jalen Boyd added a free throw for the Vikings before John Blumeyer's three-pointer from the left wing left the score at 57-55. The hosts, however, scored the next eight points to regain control with 7:06 to play.
Helwig sank two free throws to close the gap to 65-61 with 5:28 left, and the senior's jumper with 4:12 to go left the Cardinals with just a 69-63 hill to climb, but North Park closed the contest with a 10-2 run to secure its second victory over North Central this season.
Lewis led all scorers with a season-high 27 points on 9 of 17 shooting (9 of 9 free throws) while also grabbing 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Lewis has scored at least 20 points in each of the Cardinals' last three games. Helwig, meanwhile, scored 14 points and added nine rebounds. With 1,360 career points, Helwig is nine points away from entering the Cardinals' career top 10 in scoring.
The Cardinals return home to host Augustana College (5-13, 3-6) Wednesday. North Central defeated the Vikings, 83-69, at Augustana Jan. 4. Wednesday's tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
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