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

Dec. 6, 2023 - A slow start was enough to keep the North Central College men's basketball team playing catch-up throughout Wednesday's game against Hope College, as the Cardinals were overpowered, 73-65, by the Flying Dutchmen at Gregory Arena.

Playing in its first away game of the season, Hope (6-2) held a 10-0 lead after five minutes of play before Ken Thomas broke the ice for the Cardinals with a layup and Nick Smoldt came up with a steal and score. Drew Gaston's jumper with 13:22 on the first-half clock closed the gap to 12-6 before the Dutchmen went on an 8-2 run to extend their lead to 20-8 midway through the period.

North Central headed into halftime facing a 46-28 deficit as the visitors shot 55.2 percent (16 of 29) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. The Dutchmen's shooting cooled after the break, enabling the hosts to work their way back into contention. Trailing by a 56-34 count with 11:41 to play, North Central embarked on an 18-5 run, making 7 of 11 shots from the floor as they cut the Hope lead to 59-52 with 5:33 on the clock. Terrance Moncrief led the way with seven points during the rally.

The Dutchmen built their lead back to double digits at 65-54 before a steal and layup by Thomas, an inside basket by Tyler Swierczek and a three-pointer by Brian Johnson made it a 67-61 game with 1:36 to play. North Central, however, was held without a field goal the rest of the way as Hope made six straight free throws to close the contest.

Swierczek finished the game with a season-high 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting, while Thomas scored 12 points and Moncrief totaled 11. Thomas also collected three steals while Drew Gaston and Ethan Helwig shared the team lead with five rebounds each.

Hope's Marcus Wourman led all scorers with 20 points. Justice Mims scored 13 points and Gabe Quillan finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Dutchmen.

The Cardinals (3-8) travel to face Concordia University Chicago (4-6) Friday. Tipoff at Geiseman Gymnasium in River Forest is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Click HERE for the full 2023-2024 schedule and live coverage options.

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