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

Jan. 24, 2024 - Falling behind and trailing nearly the entire evening, the North Central College men's basketball team was denied a third straight win Wednesday as Carthage College departed Gregory Arena with a 73-67 victory over the Cardinals.

The Firebirds scored the first five points of the contest as four of North Central's first five possessions resulted in turnovers. The Cardinals got three baskets in rapid succession from Ken Thomas, Terrance Moncrief and Ethan Helwig to take what wound up being their lone lead of the game at 6-5, which the visitors countered with a run of nine straight points.

Carthage (13-6, 7-2 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) extended its lead to its largest of the first half at 29-18 before the Cardinals rallied with 11 unanswered points to tie the game at 29-29 with 3:08 left in the period. A three-pointer by Erikas Gurskas and a fast-break layup by Drew Gaston got the rally started in earnest, and Gaston tacked on a pair of free throws before a steal by Sean Molloy led to a three-pointer by Tyler DiSilvio which knotted the score and prompted a Firebird timeout.

The visitors regrouped and got five straight points from Ryan Johnson to pull back in front and held a 37-31 lead in the final seconds before Gaston beat the buzzer with a three to leave the score at 37-34 at the break. Gaston led all scorers in the first 20 minutes with 13 points.

The Cardinals (7-12, 5-5 CCIW) narrowed the gap to 51-49 with 11:57 remaining following eight straight points from Tyler Swierczek, but an 8-0 Carthage run, capped by five points from Antuan Nesbitt, boosted the Firebirds' advantage to 59-49. Swierczek converted a three-point play and Gaston scored seven points in 1:33 to bring the hosts within a single basket once again at 65-63. 

Nesbitt and Gaston traded baskets once again, but the Cardinals were held without a field goal for the final 1:56 as Carthage got a second-chance bucket from Filip Bulatovic and a pair of free throws from Colton Sigel on consecutive possessions to put the game out of reach. 

Gaston's season-high 22 points were the most by any player on the floor, while Swierczek contributed 11, all of which came in the second half. Swierczek and Helwig shared the team lead in rebounding (5). Bulatovic finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for Carthage, which also got 19 from Nesbitt and 15 from Johnson.

North Central travels to face North Park University Saturday in Chicago. Tipoff at the North Park Gymnasium is set for 4:15 p.m. Click HERE for the full 2023-2024 schedule and live coverage options.

Download the free North Central Cardinals app, available for iOS and Android devices, to receive up-to-the-minute news, scores and updates on your favorite North Central teams. Click HERE for more information.