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

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Feb. 17, 2024) - The momentum of a solid run of first-half play was undone by an early second-half scoring drought for the North Central College men's basketball team Saturday, as the Cardinals closed the regular season with a 67-55 loss to Illinois Wesleyan University at the Shirk Center.

North Central (9-16, 7-9 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) opened the game with an 11-6 surge led by Ethan Helwig, who scored seven points in the initial burst and capped the rally with a three-pointer from five feet behind the line. The Titans countered with an 11-2 run to pull in front, 17-13, with 8:53 on the clock.

A driving layup by Ken Thomas, two straight pullup jumpers by Drew Gaston, and a free throw and inside basket by Sean Molloy comprised a 9-2 Cardinal run which put the Cardinals back in front before the visitors headed into halftime with a 30-27 edge. Despite making just 1 of 10 shots from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes, North Central enjoyed 70.6 percent accuracy (70.6 percent) from inside the arc.

Illinois Wesleyan (18-7, 14-2) was able to keep the Cardinals from scoring for more than 10 minutes to start the second half, scoring 15 unanswered points to take a double-digit lead as North Central misfired on 14 consecutive field-goal attempts. The Cardinals were able to make 5 of 6 free throws in a two-minute stretch before Molloy's reverse layup, the guests' first made shot from the floor in the period, left them with just a 44-38 deficit with 8:31 remaining.

The Titans countered with a 7-0 rally and led by at least 10 points until an Erikas Gurskas three-pointer narrowed the gap to 56-49. IWU, however, scored a pair of free throws and a three-pointer in a 32-second span to negate the Cardinals' progress and stay at least nine points ahead the rest of the way.

Helwig finished with game-high totals of 17 points and eight rebounds while Molloy totaled 10 points. Luke Yoder was IWU's top scorer with 14 points.

The Cardinals will host Carroll University (14-11, 7-9) Tuesday in the quarterfinal round of the CCIW Tournament at Gregory Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Click HERE for the full 2023-2024 schedule and live coverage options.

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