Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Feb. 23, 2024) - Putting forth a valiant effort in a hostile environment, the North Central College men's basketball team closed its season Friday with a hard-fought 66-62 loss to top-seeded Illinois Wesleyan University in the semifinals of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament at the Shirk Center.
The Cardinals rode a wave of hot perimeter shooting early to take a first-half lead and remained in contention until the final seconds against the 22nd-ranked Titans.
North Central connected on five three-pointers on seven attempts in the first six minutes, including a 4 for 4 barrage from Ethan Helwig, to take a 17-10 lead out of the gate. The Titans (19-7) went on a 14-4 run over the next seven minutes to move in front, 24-21, before the Cardinals' Tre Davis manufactured a 7-0 surge to put the Cardinals back in front. Davis knocked down a contested jumper, then delivered a lob pass to Ken Thomas for a layup before burying a three-pointer from the left wing to give the visitors a 28-24 edge with 5:43 left in the opening half.
A three by Ryan Sroka netted IWU a brief 34-33 lead near the end of the period, but Sean Molloy knocked down a triple of his own on the next triple down the floor and the Cardinals took a 36-35 advantage into halftime. The Titans, however, opened the second half by making five straight shots in the paint, taking a 45r-40 lead and prompting a North Central timeout with 16:57 left.
A jumper in the lane by Molloy and a pull-up 18-footer by Davis cut into the deficit, and Erikas Gurskas' three-point play tied the contest at 47-47 with 12:44 left. IWU scored eight of the next 10 points, including threes by Sroka and Nick Roper, to take its largest lead of the night at 55=49.
A three-pointer by Gurskas was answered by another from Sroka, but another triple by Molloy closed the gapt 58-55. A free throw by Marko Anderson made it a 59-55 Titan lead, but jumpers by Molloy and Drew Gaston tied the contest at 59-59 with 3:50 on the clock.
The Cardinals, however, connected on just 1 of 6 field-goal attempts the rest of the way, opening the door for IWU to seize control. Just 14 seconds after Gaston's game-tying score, Sroka hit from long range again to give the hosts the lead, 62-59, and Luke Yoder's two free throws with 1:43 left looked to put the hosts firmly in control.
North Central got new life when Gaston's three-pointer hit the mark with 48 seconds left, and after getting a defensive stop, sent Molloy to the free-throw line with 14.3 seconds left for a one-and-bonus. The first attempt, however, bounced off the back iron and was grabbed by the Titans.
Helwig led all scorers with 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting (5 of 8 from three-point range) and grabbed six rebounds to share the team lead with Jeffrey Hemmelgarn, while Molloy totaled 14 points. Sroka led IWU's scoring effort with 15.
The Cardinals finish the 2023-2024 campaign with an overall record of 10-17.
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