Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Dec. 13, 2023) - Taking a break from conference play, the North Central College men's basketball team ran into a hot-shooting University of Wisconsin-Platteville team ranked No. 24 in the nation and dropped the contest, 80-65 inside Gregory Arena on Wednesday night.

Tyler Swierczek knocked down the Cardinals' first three-pointer of the contest in the midst of a 10-3 Pioneer run. Ken Thomas cut the lead in half with a made layup. Bringing North Central back within a possession was Sean Malloy who converted two free throws to put the score at 12-9. 

Another UW-Platteville run put them ahead by nine, 23-14. Swierczek earned a trip to the charity stripe following a three-point attempt and sank all three opportunities. The teams traded baskets until the Pioneers ended the half on a 10-0 run to take a 43-22 lead into the break.

Nick Smoldt hit a deep ball which sparked a seven-point swing for North Central. Knocking down his third three-pointer of the second half, Smoldt made the score 57-35 with 13:58 to play. 

Each team hit a pair of field goals before another 7-0 run from the Cardinals closed their deficit to 18 on an Ethan Helwig layup. Tre Davis sank a pair of free throws before Helwig took advantage of a steal and fastbreak layup, making the score 69-54 with just under five minutes to go. Smoldt hit back-to-back threes to bring North Central within 13 but the Pioneers secured an 80-65 victory to improve to 8-1. The Cardinals fall to 3-7.

Smoldt scored a career-high 22 points, 17 coming in the second half. He went six of eight from beyond the arc, tying Brian Johnson for most by a Cardinal this season. Swierczek tallied 14 points with Thomas scoring 10. As a team, the Cardinals shot 36% from the floor and 50% from three-point range. Ben Probst tied Smoldt with a game-high 22 points as the Pioneers shot 48% from the field and 52% from deep. 

North Central (3-7) hosts Hope College (4-2) for the first time since 2012 when the Cardinals won 60-49 with the help of head coach Vince Kmiec and assistant coach Aaron Tiknis both starting that game. This season's matchup is set for 7 p.m. inside Gregory Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 20.

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