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

WAUKESHA, Wis. (Jan. 3, 2024) - Taking charge early and responding to a spirited second-half challenge with its strongest play of the night, the North Central College men's basketball team won its second straight contest Wednesday, 68-57, over Carroll University on the Pioneers' home court.

North Central (5-9, 3-2 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) seized the lead quickly and kept it throughout the game, posting a victory at Van Male Fieldhouse for the sixth straight season and extending its current winning streak against the Pioneers to eight games dating back to the 2018-2019 campaign. The Cardinals owned a 46-24 rebounding advantage, scoring 12 second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds, while owning a 25-10 advantage in free-throw attempts.

With seven early points from Drew Gaston, the Cardinals owned an 11-6 advantage after four minutes of play. Owning a 14-10 advantage with 14:51 on the first-half clock, North Central held the Pioneers scoreless for four minutes and extended its advantage to 18-10 following a pair of layups by Terrance Moncrief.

The visitors took their first double-digit lead of the evening at 29-16 following a spinning jumper in the lane by Ken Thomas, a driving layup by Terrance Moncrief and another inside bucket by Thomas with 6:12 before halftime. Thomas scored the Cardinals' final points of the period on a layup with 1:15 to play to give North Central its largest lead of the half at 33-21 before the Pioneers closed the gap to 33-25 at the break. 

Carroll (8-6, 1-4 CCIW) connected on its first seven shots of the second half to cut the Cardinals' lead to 43-42 with 14:06 to play. North Central, however, outscored the hosts, 14-1, over the next eight minutes to take a 57-43 advantage with 6:01 to play. Moncrief scored six points during the rally, which saw the hosts miss on nine straight shots from the floor. 

The Pioneers got a layup from Paradisio Dante and a three-pointer from Aaron Wafford in a 30-second span to cut their deficit to 57-48 before North Central responded in kind with a layup by Nick Smoldt and a three from Erikas Gurskas before Sean Molloy's free throws with 2:55 to play gave the Cardinals their largest lead of the night at 65-50.

Gaston and Thomas shared North Central's team lead in scoring with 14 points each, while Moncrief scored 13 on 6 of 8 shooting. Gurskas grabbed a game- and career-high 10 rebounds while Tyler Swierczek finished with eight points and three assists.

Carroll's Kobe Simpson led all scorers with 16 points and Wafford finished with 12.

The Cardinals travel to Elmhurst University Saturday for a 4:15 p.m. matchup with 17th-ranked Bluejays (12-1, 4-0) at R.A. Faganel Hall. Click HERE for the full 2023-2024 schedule and live coverage options.

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