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

Jan. 20, 2024 - Closing the game with a brilliant seven-minute run of play, the North Central College men's basketball team claimed a second victory over arch rival Wheaton College this season Saturday, overpowering the Thunder, 61-47, at Gregory Arena.

In an affair which saw both teams struggle to get untracked offensively in the early going, the Cardinals (7-11, 5-4 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) gave themselves an edge by outrebounding Wheaton, 52-26, scoring 10 second-chance points and not allowing the visitors a single offensive rebound the entire game. 

The Thunder (4-14, 3-6 CCIW) owned a 9-4 lead after five minutes of play and stayed in front until Ken Thomas' layup put the hosts in front, 16-15, with 6:32 left in the first half. Wheaton made 5 of 6 free throws over the next three minutes to move back in front, 20-18, before an Ethan Helwig three-pointer put the Cardinals ahead once again at 21-20 with 3:08 on the clock.

Tyler Swierczek knocked down two free throws and buried a three-pointer on consecutive possessions to give North Central its largest lead of the half at 26-20 before the Thunder shaved the deficit down to 26-23 by halftime. The score was tied four times in the first seven minutes of the second half, the last of which came at 35-35, when Swierczek connected again from long range and wound up giving the home team the lead for good. 

North Central's Terrance Moncrief and the Thunder's Nate Sock exchanged baskets three times over the next three minutes, leaving the score at 46-44 with 7:16 to play following a layup by Sock. Wheaton, however, missed its next six shots from the floor and did not make another field goal until Nick Schiavello scored with 17 seconds remaining, at which point the Cardinals had put the game away with a 15-1 scoring run. 

Ethan Helwig opened the game-winning surge with a three-pointer following an offensive rebound by Sean Molloy, and a steal by Moncrief led to a layup by Ken Thomas before Moncrief scored twice on drives to the basket to give North Central its first double-digit lead at 55-45 with 5:06 left. 

Moncrief finished the game as the Cardinals' leading scorer with 13 points, 12 of which came after halftime. Helwig and Thomas each scored 10 points and Helwig grabbed 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double for the third time this season. 

Wheaton, which came into the game as the CCIW leader in three-pointers made per game (9.1), was limited to 4 of 22 shooting from beyond the arc. Soren Richardson was the Thunder's top scorer with 14 points.

The Cardinals host Carthage College (12-5, 6-2) Wednesday, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Click HERE for the full 2023-2024 schedule and live coverage options.

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