Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
ELMHURST, Ill. (Feb. 21, 2023) - In a contest which had all the markings of a bona fide postseason battle, the North Central College men's basketball team saw its campaign come to a close Tuesday with an 84-80 loss to Elmhurst University in the first round of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament at R.A. Faganel Hall.
The first half of Tuesday's contest saw both teams take their best shots at the other. The Cardinals opened the game with a 13-5 run, then trailed by as many as seven points before ultimately drawing even at 35-35 after John Blumeyer sank a three-pointer from the left wing on a pass out of the post by Mitch Lewis.
Lewis scored on a drive from the left wing to nudge the Cardinals in front, 37-35, but Elmhurst's Wesley Hooker and Tagen Pearson both scored to give the hosts a 39-37 advantage. The Bluejays attempted to set up the final shot of the half before Shea Cupples stripped the ball from John Ittounas and drew a foul, making two free throws just before time expired to end the half in a 39-39 stalemate.
Elmhurst (17-9) opened the second half with a 14-3 run over the first six minutes, making 7 of 9 field goals while the Cardinals made just 1 of 9. Lewis scored nine of North Central's points in a seven-minute stretch to narrow its deficit to 63-57.
Lewis scored twice more in the post before Matt Helwig made his bid to shoot the Cardinals into the next round, scoring North Central's next 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting (3 of 3 from three-point range). Helwig's two free throws with 29.0 seconds to play gave him a game-high 33 for the evening and left the Cardinals with an 81-78 deficit.
Pearson was fouled and made two free throws for the Bluejays to extend their lead to 83-78. A outback by Lewis with 4.6 seconds left made it a three-point game once again at 83-80, but Pearson was fouled again and made one of two shots to put the game out of reach.
Helwig made 10 of 20 shots from the floor, including 4 of 7 three-pointers, and connected on 9 of 10 free throws while also totaling six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Lewis finished with 19 points and 10 boards for his second double-double of the season.
Helwig finishes his collegiate career seventh on the Cardinals' career scoring list (1,574) while ranking fifth in three-pointers made (166) and establishing a new North Central career record for free-throw percentage (.890).
North Central concludes the campaign with an overall record of 14-12.
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