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

KENOSHA, Wis. (Jan. 15, 2025) - The North Central College men's basketball team saw its bid for its first road win of 2025 derailed by a second-half scoring run Wednesday, as the Cardinals were defeated, 93-78, by the Carthage College Firebirds at Tarble Arena.

North Central (10-6, 3-4 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) owned a 43-42 advantage at halftime and tied the contest at 59-59 on a Justin Sveiteris hook shot before the hosts made 7 of 8 shots in a five-minute stretch that provided the Firebirds with a 78-64 advantage with 7:43 to play. 

Carthage (11-4, 5-1 CCIW) led by double digits the rest of the way, shooting at a 70.8 percent clip (17 of 24) after halftime including a 6 of 9 effort from three-point range. The hosts shot 62 percent (31 of 50) from the field and 64.7 percent (11 of 17) from behind the arc in addition to a perfect 20 for 20 showing at the free-throw stripe.

Wednesday's first half featured 12 ties and 12 lead changes, and the largest lead by either team was a four-point North Central advantage at 32-28 following two straight jump shots from Terrance Moncrief. James Bullock Jr. scored the Cardinals' final five points of the period as North Central took a 43-42 edge into halftime having shot an even 50 percent (17 of 34) from the floor. Bullock paced the visitors in the first half with 10 points.

Bullock led the Cardinals in scoring for the third time in four games with 14 points on 6 of 11 shooting and has averaged 14.7 points per game in North Central's four games thus far in January. Ethan Helwig and Tyler Swierczek put up 11 points each and Moncrief finished with 10. Alejandro Diaz was the Cardinals' leading rebounder (5) while Bullock also finished with three steals.

North Central travels to face North Park University (10-5, 5-1) Saturday. Tipoff at North Park Gymnasium in Chicago is set for 4:15 p.m. Click HERE for the full 2024-2025 schedule and live coverage options.

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