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

Dec. 7, 2024 - A particularly fierce College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) battle was won at the free-throw line at Gregory Arena Saturday, as the North Central College men's basketball team pulled away in the final minute to defeat Augustana College, 76-69.

The Cardinals (6-2, 1-1 CCIW) affected the 30th and final lead change of the evening with 1:09 to play, as Ethan Helwig was fouled on a drive to the basket and made two free throws to provide the hosts with a slim 70-69 advantage. A ballhandling miscue by the Vikings led to a diving steal by Tre Davis and resulted in two more free throws by Helwig with 23 seconds to go.

Following another Augustana turnover, Helwig was fouled yet again to stop the clock and sank both attempts, and Sean Molloy connected on the two final shots of the night. The Cardinals made 16 of 17 free throws in the second half and 23 of 24 for the game (95.8 percent), the most accurate effort from the line in the program's history by a team with at least 20 attempts.

Alejandro Diaz opened the game with a pair of inside buckets to give North Central the largest lead by either team in the first half. The teams passed the lead back and forth 19 times in the first 20 minutes, including each of the last nine made shots of the period. Augustana's Tyler Knuth scored seven of the Vikings' final nine points of the half, including a layup in the final seconds to send the visitors into the break with a 36-35 advantage.

Augustana (5-2, 1-1) scored the first five points of the second half and led until back-to-back three-pointers by Helwig and Tyler Swierczek swung the game in the Cardinals' favor. Another three-pointer from Swierczek was answered quickly in kind by Shaun Kelley with 12:04 on the clock, and the teams were not separated by more than two points for the next seven minutes.

The Cardinals owned a 68-65 lead following two Molloy free throws with 2:35 to play. Chase Larsen gave the Vikings their final lead of the night by making both free throws on two straight trips to the line. 

Helwig made 6 of 11 shots from the floor and 8 of 8 at the line to achieve a season high in scoring for the second straight game with 23 points. Swierczek made 4 of 6 three-pointers and finished with 16, while Davis and Drew Gaston each scored nine off the bench. Knuth was the Vikings' top scorer with 22.

North Central travels to face Loras College (Iowa) in non-conference play Thursday. Tipoff at Lillis Court is set for 5:00 p.m. Click HERE for the full 2024-2025 schedule and live coverage options.

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