Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Dec. 30, 2023 - Closing the 2023 calendar year with its most decisive victory of the season, the North Central College men's basketball team used a superb second half of play to subdue the Illinois Institute of Technology Saturday. The Cardinals defeated the Scarlet Hawks, 83-57, to snap a five-game losing streak.
Owning a 36-30 advantage at halftime, North Central (4-9) quickly extended its lead to double digits and pulled away as the hosts shot 60 percent (15 of 25) from the floor in the second half, including a 9 for 11 effort from three-point range. The Cardinals finished the game 11 of 20 from beyond the three-point arc (55.0 percent), their most accurate long-range marksmanship of the season.
Saturday's first half saw six lead changes, and the score stood deadlocked at 25-25 with 3:58 left in the period. A three-point play by Ken Thomas and a layup by Tyler Swierczek were followed by four straight points by Brian Johnson which provided the Cardinals a 34-27 advantage heading into the final minute. IIT (3-9) got a three-pointer from Caden Gigstad before Johnson found Sean Molloy for a layup as time expired to send the teams into halftime with North Central in front, 36-30.
Thomas opened the second half with another three-point play and Drew Gaston followed with eight points in a two-minute stretch, including two three-pointers, to extend the Cardinals' lead to 47-36 with 14:35 to play. The Scarlet Hawks scored on Rodney Murphy's putback before Swierczek sank another triple to put the hosts in front by double digits (50-38) the rest of the way. The Cardinals made eight of their final nine field-goal attempts in the last nine minutes, sinking four of four three-pointers.
Ethan Helwig scored a game-high 19 points, including 16 on 6 of 8 shooting in the second half. Thomas put up a double-double for the second time this season with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Swierczek's 17 points are a season high. Gaston contributed 10 points and a team-best four assists.
Garrison Carter paced IIT with 14 points and Gigstad finished with 12.
The Cardinals return to College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play Wednesday at Carroll University. Tipoff at Van Male Fieldhouse is set for 7:00 p.m. Click HERE for the full 2023-2024 schedule and live coverage options.
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