Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5324
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Dec. 21, 2025) - Registering a season-high 15 steals, the North Central College men's basketball team caused havoc against the Mississippi University for Women as the Cardinals earned a 71-68 victory over the Owls to close out the Rhodes College Tournament.
After the Owls scored on the opening possession, a three pointer from Alejandro Diaz sparked an 11-2 run capped off by a Tyler Surin layup. Baskets by Surin, Justin Sveiteris and Tyler Di Silvio kept the Cardinals in front, 17-7. MUW closed the gap quickly, knocking down a pair of threes before Tyler Swierczek responded with his first deep ball of the game. The teams traded blows as the Owls came within five, 31-26 before another layup from Surin at the buzzer halted the run to give North Central a 35-26 advantage at the break.
Swierczek scored five straight points early in the second half for the Cardinals. MUW used a 6-0 run to come within four, 42-38 with 14:51 to play. Sveiteris and Di Silvio quickly pushed the North Central advantage back to nine, 47-39. Back-to-back threes from the Owls closed the gap once again, 49-46.
With 7:53 left in the game, MUW took their first lead since the game's first possession, 54-53. A pair of Owl free throws added to their lead, 60-55 with 4:46 to go. Diaz scored five points in a row to put the Cardinals back in front, 61-60. MUW retook a 62-61 edge before Ethan Marlowe made two baskets to give North Central a 65-62 lead. Sean Molloy made four clutch free throws down the stretch to claim a 71-68 victory.
Diaz led all scorers with 21 points, including five three pointers to pace the Cardinal offense. Swierczek (12 points) and Surin (10) added double-digit efforts. North Central registered a season-high 15 steals defensively. The Cardinals held decisive advantages in second chance points (23-4) and points off of turnovers (32-12).
North Central heads to Dubuque, Iowa for the Loras Holiday Classic next week. The Cardinals face Lake Forest College on Monday and Bethany Lutheran College on Tuesday.
