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

Nov. 26, 2024 - Employing a balanced scoring effort and responding in crunch time with its strongest play of the night, the North Central College men's basketball team pulled away in overtime to defeat Benedictine University, 86-78, in the annual Battle for Chicago/Maple Avenue Tuesday at Gregory Arena.

After leading by as many as 15 points early in the second half, the Cardinals (4-1) went cold from the floor in the final five minutes of regulation as Benedictine scored 11 straight points to take a 71-69 lead with 1:12 to play in regulation. Terrance Moncrief tied the score at 71-71 with a driving layup with 49 seconds on the clock, forcing North Central into an overtime period for the second straight game.

Moncrief opened the extra frame by grabbing an offensive rebound and drawing a foul, sinking both free throws. Drew Gaston rebounded a missed shot by the Eagles before Alejandro Diaz stuck a pullup jumper to beat the shot clock and give the hosts a 75-71 edge. Gaston grabbed another rebound on the next trip down the floor and was fouled, making both, and Diaz scored on a tipin with 2:13 on the clock.

The rest of the Cardinals' scoring was done by Gaston, who made 7 of 8 charity shots in the final 1:36 to keep the Eagles at bay. North Central limited the visitors to 2 for 10 shooting in overtime and made 19 of 21 free throws after halftime.

North Central led throughout the first half, though never by more than six points before the Eagles (1-5) rallied to tie the score at 31-31. Tyler Swierczek responded with a three-pointer from the right wing to ignite a 9-2 surge that was broken up by Brandon McCoy's three just before the end of the period. The Cardinals headed to halftime with a 40-36 advantage despite Benedictine's 50 percent (7 of 14) accuracy from three-point range.

The Eagles tied the score at 40-40 shortly after play resumed, but North Central countered with a run of 10 straight points bookended by three-pointers from Swierczek and Diaz. The lead grew to 59-44 with 13:15 on the clock, but a scoreless drought of more than four minutes allowed Benedictine to close the gap to 63-57. Two straight baskets by Moncrief and two free throws from Swierczek put the hosts in front, 69-60, before the Eagles' rally to force overtime. Benedictine made just 1 of 12 attempts from beyond the arc in the second half and overtime.

Moncrief finished with 18 points, while Tyler DiSilvio put up career highs in scoring (14) and rebounding (6) and Swierczek, Diaz and Gaston each totaled 13 points. Ethan Helwig grabbed a game-high nine rebounds as Diaz and Gaston each collected eight, and Moncrief and Sean Molloy shared the team lead with four assists. 

Benedictine's Noah Mason led all scorers with 22 points while McCoy totaled 19 and Tanner Resch put up 15.

The Cardinals travel to face Illinois Institute of Technology (0-4) Saturday at the Keating Sports Center in Chicago, with tipoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Click HERE for the full 2024-2025 schedule and live coverage options.

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