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

CHICAGO (Jan. 18, 2025) - Shaking off a 21-point deficit to get back into contention late in the game, the North Central College men's basketball team was dealt a 96-84 setback in an uptempo affair at North Park University Saturday. 

Leaders throughout the bulk of the contest, the Vikings (10-5, 6-1 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) responded to North Central's surge with a 10-2 run that put the contest out of reach and kept the hosts among the leaders in the CCIW standings.

North Park made three of its first four shots and pounced on North Central soon after play began, 9-2. Alejandro Diaz converted a layup after two straight offensive rebounds by James Bullock and Terrance Moncrief knocked down a three-pointer bnefore Bullock's putback knotted the score at 9-9 with 16:04 on the first-half clock. 

Moncrief drove the lane for a layup to give the Cardinals (10-7, 3-5 CCIW) an 11-9 advantage that turned out to be their final lead of the contest. A 15-2 North Park run over a stretch of just more than four minutes put the hosts ahead, 24-13, as the Vikings made 6 of 7 shots during the rally.

An 11-0 surge netted North Park its largest lead of the first half at 45-24 with 5:15 on the clock. Two straight three-pointers from Tyler Swierczek helped the Cardinals narrow the gap to 50-35 at the end of a first half which saw the Vikings shoot 55.3 percent (21 of 38) from the field and 7 of 13 (53.8 percent) from three-point range.

The Cardinals were able to reduce their deficit to 69-60 with 9:53 to play after freshman forward Justin Sveiteris scored in the lane on three straight possessions. A three by Swierczek closed the gap to five points at 73-68 with 8:12 remaining. North Park's DJ Wallace answered with a triple on the other end of the floor, but Swierczek responded just 14 seconds later, once again from beyond the arc, to keep the pressure on the hosts.

Two Moncrief free throws left North Central trailing by just a 77-73 count with 7:01 to go. The Vikings countered with a layup from Taijon Barry and a pair of free throws by TJ Gardner before William Bates' dunk built North Park's lead back up to 83-73. The home team led by at least eight points the rest of the way.

Drew Gaston led all scorers and tied a North Central career high with 22 points, making 7 of 14 shots from the floor and 7 of 8 free throws. Swierczek narrowly missed a season high with 17 points and made 5 of 9 three-pointers while Moncrief put up a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists. Bullock grabbed a game- and season-high nine rebounds.

Moncrief's assist total matches the eighth-best single-game effort in North Central's history. With seven points, Ethan Helwig moves into 20th place on the Cardinals' all-time career scoring list (1,204). 

North Central is idle until Saturday, Jan. 25, when it hosts Elmhurst University (xx-xx). Tipoff is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. at Gregory Arena. Click HERE for the full 2024-2025 schedule and live coverage options.

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