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

Feb. 11, 2023 - Staging a furious comeback after facing a substantial deficit early in the second half, the North Central College men's basketball team earned its veterans a hard-fought Senior Night victory Saturday, rallying to overtake Illinois Wesleyan University in an 85-78 overtime triumph at Gregory Arena.

The Titans shot nearly 60 percent from the floor in the first half and owned a 44-30 advantage at halftime. IWU (12-12, 7-7 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) extended its lead to 50-32 two minutes into the second period, prompting a North Central stoppage. Matt Helwig, Ethan Helwig and John Blumeyer each knocked down three-pointers to get the comeback started, and Mitch Lewis' layup in the paint closed the gap to single digits at 52-43 with 14:05 remaining.

Matt Helwig scored the game's next seven points in 1:27 to leave the Titans with just a 52-50 lead with 11:36 still to play. He sank two free throws and made a three-pointer in a 28-second span to give the hosts their first lead since the opening minutes of the contest at 55-54. The lead was short-lived as IWU's Ryan Sroka scored on the next possession, but another inside basket by Matt Helwig and a three-pointer by John Blumeyer gave North Central a 60-56 edge with 5:52 left.

The lead changed hands three times before IWU took the upper hand at 67-62 with 1:29 on the clock. Shea Cupples fed Ethan Helwig for a layup, then converted a layin of his own to close the gap to 67-66 with 27 seconds left. The Titans had two trips to the free-throw line in the final 17 seconds and made one shot each time to boost their lead to 69-66. After a free throw by IWU's Ryan Sroka missed with four seconds remaining, Ethan Helwig collected the rebound and found Cupples, who pulled up just before time expired and sank a three-pointer to tie the score at 69-69.

The visitors owned a 76-74 lead with 2:26 remaining in overtime before North Central closed the contest with a 9-2 run. Matt Helwig's three-point play nudged the hosts back in front, and he and Cupples each sank a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 81-76. The Cardinals (12-11, 7-8 CCIW) beat IWU's press to score wide-open layups by Cupples and Ethan Helwig in the final 21 seconds.

Matt Helwig led all scorers with a season-high 38 points, making 13 of 26 shots from the floor and 8 of 8 free throws. He scored 29 of his points after halftime. Cupples put up 14 points while Lewis finished with nine points, eight rebounds and five assists.

The Cardinals host Carthage College (16-7, 8-6) Wednesday in their final home game of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

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