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

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif (Nov. 9, 2023) - The North Central College men's basketball team was denied in its season opener at California Lutheran University Thursday, taking control early before being overtaken by the Kingsmen and coming out on the short end of a 71-63 count at Gilbert Arena.

The Cardinals enjoyed a strong start to the contest, stringing together eight unanswered points in a four-minute span to take an early 14-6 lead with 14:06 on the clock. Brian Johnson bookended the rally with a three-pointer and a putback.

The North Central lead reached double digits for the first time on Erikas Gurskas' three-pointer with 11:44 to play in the half, and two straight inside baskets by Ken Thomas gave the visitors their largest lead of the period at 23-10.

Cal Lutheran hit three shots from beyond the arc in two minutes to disrupt the Cardinals' momentum, and the Kingsmen followed soon thereafter with an 11-2 surge which left the score at 32-31 with 3:13 left. John Blumeyer's jumper with 2:45 to play was North Central's last of the half, as CLU closed with a pair of threes to take a 39-34 lead into the break.

The hosts held a 49-47 edge before scoring eight straight points in a four-minute span, taking advantage of a run of six straight missed field-goal attempts by the Cardinals. Blumeyer broke up the rally by burying a three-pointer with 11:31 to play but North Central was forced to play catch-up the rest of the way. 

The score stood at 63-58 following Drew Gaston's jumper with 5:20 to play, but the hosts put the contest away with an 8-2 run down the stretch.

Thomas led the Cardinals with 16 points on 8 of 13 shooting, while Blumeyer finished with 13 and Moncrief scored 11. Ethan Helwig grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Tommy Griffitts led four double-figure scorers for the Kingsmen with 15 points as the hosts made 12 of 26 three-point attempts.

North Central's West Coast trip concludes Saturday at the University of La Verne. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Pacific time (4:00 p.m. Central). Click HERE for the full 2023-2024 schedule and live coverage options.

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