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

CHICAGO (Jan. 27, 2024) - Struggling to slow down a high-pressure attack and falling victim to an extended scoring run late in the contest, the North Central College men's basketball team absorbed a 94-78 loss at North Park University in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play Saturday.

The Cardinals (7-13, 5-6 CCIW) trailed for a majority of the first half as North Park made 11 of 20 shots in the first 12 minutes and built its largest lead of the opening period at 28-19 with 8:37 on the clock. North Central got three-pointers on back-to-back possessions from Tyler Swierczek to ignite a 14-4 run over a three-minute stretch to give the Cardinals their first lead at 33-32. The rally was capped by two Ethan Helwig three-pointers within 10 seconds of one another.

The score was tied three times before Swierczek connected again from three-point range and John Blumeyer made a contested layup in the lane to send the visitors into halftime with a 43-42 advantage. Swierczek scored 14 points in the opening frame on 5 of 8 shooting, including a 4 for 6 effort from three-point range.

North Park (10-10, 5-6) briefly retook the lead early in the second period before a 10-2 run, featuring eight points from Drew Gaston, gave the Cardinals their largest lead of the afternoon at 58-51 with 15:19 remaining. The Vikings, however, scored eight points in just a 15-second span as their full-court pressure generated two quick turnovers, and embarked on a 12-2 run which put them in front, 63-60.

North Central worked the ball down low to Ken Thomas on three straight possessions to get two layups and a pair of free throws to nudge the Cardinals back in front, 64-63, with 9:34 to play.

The Vikings, howver, scored the game's next 14 points in just more than two minutes to open the run which defined the game, outscoring North Central, 25-1, over a stretch of just more than five minutes. North Park made 8 of 10 shots from the floor during the surge to take a commanding 88-65 lead with 4:30 remaining and lead comfortably the rest of the way.

Thomas led the Cardinals with 18 points and 11 rebounds, notching a third double-double this season, while Swierczek totaled 16 points and Gaston finished with 10. Kolden Vanlandingham scored a game-high 23 points for North Park, which also got 20 points each from Shamar Pumphrey and Kenton Lei.

North Central is idle until Saturday, when it hosts Elmhurst University at 4:15 p.m. Click HERE for the full 2023-2024 schedule and live coverage options.

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