Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
WAUKESHA, Wis. (Feb. 1, 2023) - Embroiled in a fiercely competitive duel on the road in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play once again Wednesday, the North Central College men's basketball team turned to its veterans to lead the way to a 90-86 overtime victory over the Carroll University Pioneers at Van Male Fieldhouse.
Cardinal senior guards Matt Helwig and Shea Cupples combined to score 56 of North Central's points, as Helwig set a season high with 34 and Cupples established a new career best with 22. Helwig scored 14 of the Cardinals' 17 points in overtime and shared the team lead in rebounds (7) with Erikas Gurskas, while Cupples shot 8 of 14 from the floor (4 of 7 from three-point range) and led the visitors in assists (4).
Carroll (4-16, 1-10 CCIW) took advantage of a slow start on the Cardinals' offensive end to take an early 13-5 lead. North Central responded by scoring 10 straight points, including six straight by Mitch Lewis, to take its first lead at 15-13. The lead changed hands three more times before the Pioneers put together a 9-2 surge to take their largest lead of the half at 34-24.
North Central was able to whittle the lead down to 38-34 by halftime as Helwig's layup ended play. Trailing, 44-36, early in the second half, the Cardinals scored seven points in 62 seconds to close the gap to 44-43. Cupples sank a three-pointer, John Blumeyer pulled up for a jumper, and Ethan Helwig's steal led to a layup for Cupples with 17:07 to play.
Two free throws by Lewis briefly gave the guests a 45-44 lead, but the Pioneers scored seven straight to pull back in front. Carroll owned a 56-54 lead with 12:33 to play, but did not score again for nearly eight minutes as the Cardinals scored 11 unanswered points to go ahead, 65-56, with 5:06 left. Cupples put up seven points during the rally.
North Central, however, did not make another field goal in regulation despite making 8 of 10 free throws. The Cardinals held a 73-71 lead on the final possession before Carroll guard Eckahelo Simpson scored on a tip-in at the buzzer to force the extra session.
The lead changed hands five times in overtime. Justin Steinike's three-pointer with 45 seconds left put the hosts in front, 86-85, for just 23 seconds before Matt Helwig pulled up on the right wing from 25 feet away to register the evening's final lead change with 22 seconds left. Blumeyer sank two free throws with 8.3 seconds to play to put the game on ice.
The Cardinals (11-9, 6-6 CCIW) turned the tide at the free-throw line, making 24 of 29 attempts (82.8 percent) while Carroll converted just 11 of 22. Lewis made 8 of 8 charity shots as part of a 16-point effort, while Blumeyer finished with 12. Aaron Wafford led Carroll in scoring with 24 points.
Matt Helwig now ranks 10th in North Central history in career three-pointers made (148) and sits ninth in the program's history in scoring (1,427).
The Cardinals host Elmhurst University Saturday at Gregory Arena. The Bluejays are 14-6 (6-5 CCIW) following Wednesday's 74-64 win over Illinois Wesleyan University. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.
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