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

WAUKESHA, Wis. (Feb. 19, 2025) - Locking up a victory with a stretch run befitting a postseason contender, the North Central College men's basketball team completed a season sweep of Carroll University Wednesday. The Cardinals prevailed, 80-76, at Van Male Fieldhouse on the Pioneers' Senior Night.

The Cardinals (14-10, 7-8 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) scored the game's first 12 points and led until late in the second half. Facing a 73-71 deficit with 2:12 to play, North Central held the Pioneers without a field goal the rest of the way while making 7 of 8 free throws to close out a fourth win in the Cardinals' last six outings.

The visitors owned a 19-6 advantage after just under seven minutes of play, taking advantage of four early Carroll turnovers and making 7 of 8 shots from the floor after missing their first three attempts of the night. The Cardinals led, 41-31, at halftime, and remained in front by as many as 13 points in the second half before a 13-0 scoring run brought the Pioneers their first lead at 65-64 following Justin Steinike's three-point play with 5:56 to play.

Drew Gaston sank two free throws just nine seconds later to nudge North Central back ahead before Ethan Helwig followed with a layup and a three-pointer to give the guests a 71-65 edge just seventy seconds later. Carroll (8-16, 4-11 CCIW) rallied once again to take the lead, getting a three-pointer from Steinike and free throws from Kobe Simpson before a triple by Erik Victorson left the Pioneers with a 73-71 advantage.

Terrance Moncrief, who led all scorers with a career-high 24 points, sank two free throws with 2:12 on the clock to level the score at 73-73. North Central regained the lead on a free throw by Tyler DiSilvio, and Jaydon James added two more with 1:03 left. Moncrief's inside layup with 23 seconds to go proved to put the game out of reach and send the Cardinals to the CCIW Tournament for the fourth straight season.

North Central matched its finest three-point shooting accuracy of the season by netting 11 of 22 attempts (50 percent) from beyond the arc and improved to 6-2 when scoring at least 80 points. Moncrief made 9 of 15 field goals and handed out a team-best four assists while Helwig made 14 points and moved into second place in the Cardinals' career history with 207 made three-pointers.

Gaston and DiSilvio each put up 13 for North Central, while Tyler Swierczek turned in seven rebounds. Victorson was Carroll's leading scorer with 13 points.

The Cardinals close the regular season Saturday at Wheaton College (6-18, 3-12). Tipoff at King Arena is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Click HERE for the full 2024-2025 schedule and live coverage options.

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