Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5324
(Written by: Sam Fretto, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu)

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Jan. 10, 2026)- Hosting the local and College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) rival, Wheaton College, the North Central College men's basketball team fell to the Thunder, 72-71, after a game-winning buzzer-beating three from Wheaton's Soren Richardson in Gregory Arena on Saturday night. 

North Central jumped out to a hot start, shooting 50% from the field within the first six and a half minutes and holding a 13-8 lead over Wheaton. It was an all-around effort to begin the game for the Cardinals, with all five starters, Tyler Surin, Sean Molloy, James Bullock Jr., Alejandro Diaz, and Seth Cheney, scoring a bucket. North Central took an 8-6 lead after the first block of the night by Bullock Jr. led to Cardinals' offense with a Diaz fastbreak layup. Wheaton and North Central traded free throws until Bullock Jr. exploded for a dunk to give the Cardinals an eight-point lead. 

Wheaton cut the deficit to three points with 8:55 to go in the first half, and North Central went on a 12-2 run over the following 4:38 to lead, 31-18, their first double-digit advantage of the game. The Cardinals capitalized on Ethan Marlowe's points in the paint and a Bullock Jr. look from downtown. North Central finished the half strong with back-to-back jumpers by Diaz in the final minute of the half. The Cardinals entered the locker room with a 37-26 lead. 

The Cardinals limited the Thunder to just 29.63% from the field and 27.27% from three while shooting 43.33% from the field in the first half. 

Both sides came out firing in the second half, connecting on four of their first five shots before Wheaton cut the 13-point North Central lead down to four with a 9-0 run in less than four minutes. A trio of Bullock Jr., Marlowe, and Tyler Swierczek kept the offense afloat, combining to score nine points across a four-minute stretch. A pair of Swierczek with 10:10 remaining in the half gave North Central another double-digit lead, 56-45. A steal by Molloy led to a fastbreak dunk by Bullock for a second time in the contest to go up 12 points. The Thunder continued to keep pace with the Cardinals' offense, making it a 63-59 Cardinals' lead with 5:01 left in the game. 

With 57 seconds remaining and a 70-67 North Central advantage, neither team scored on their following possession. Bullock Jr. wiped away a Thunder layup attempt for his fifth block of the night. The block led to a Wheaton offensive rebound and a pair of Thunder free throws. Going two-for-two at the line, and trailing 70-69, the Thunder had to intentionally foul Diaz. Diaz split the free throw attempts to give the Cardinals a two-point advantage, 71-69. Looking for the tie, Wheaton went up for a layup, which was blocked by Bullock Jr. and rebounded by Richardson, who hit the game-winning three-pointer as time expired. 

Bullock Jr. led North Central in scoring with 22 points and eight rebounds while swatting six shots, a career high and tied for a program record. Diaz and Swierczek were the other two Cardinals to reach double figures, with 13 and 11, respectively. 

North Central (5-10, 1-5 CCIW) hits the road to Rock Island, Ill., to take on Augustana College (7-6, 2-2 CCIW) on Wednesday, Jan. 14, inside the Carver Center with tipoff set for 7 p.m.