Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5324
Jan. 21, 2026 - Playing in their fourth overtime contest of the season, the North Central College men's basketball team prevailed 82-78 Wednesday night inside Gregory Arena as the Cardinals defeated Carroll University for the 15th straight time the teams have met.
Both defenses highlighted the first five minutes of the game, as a layup from Justin Sveiteris evened the score at 4-4. Three pointers from James Bullock Jr. and Seth Cheney gave the Cardinals a 10-7 edge midway through the first half. Keagan Faulkner's first career points came on a made three-pointer to keep North Central in front, 15-12. That deep ball sparked a 9-0 run for the Cardinals as an old-fashioned three-point play from Alejandro Diaz gave North Central a 21-15 lead. The offenses picked up late in the first half as the teams traded points. A basket by Carroll with one second left cut the Cardinals' lead to one, 32-31.
An offensive rebound from Sean Molloy turned into a layup from Ethan Marlowe to open the scoring in the second half. Both North Central and Carroll exchanged baskets as neither team led by more than five in the first ten minutes. A successful pair of free throws by Justin Sveiteris broke a tie with 9:59 left before the Pioneers answered with a three-pointer. Tre Davis buried a three off of a Svieteris assist to put North Central back in front. Tyler Surin scored a putback on a second-chance basket to push the Cardinals' advantage to three, 58-55 with 2:10 left. A three pointer from Davis gave North Central a four-point lead, before a Davis technical foul resulted in a four-point swing as Carroll tied the game at 63-63. Out of a timeout, Surin hit a clutch three pointer with 20 seconds remaining to give North Central a 66-63 edge. Michael McNabb made a layup, drew a foul and made the free throw to send the game into overtime.
A fastbreak layup from Diaz put the Cardinals ahead by three, 69-66 with 3:45 left in overtime. The teams traded free throws as Molloy's free throws extended the lead to five, 75-70. Carroll made a layup and three pointer, but North Central remained resilient at the charity stripe. Molloy's two free throws with a second left gave the Cardinals a two-possession lead, securing an 82-78 victory over the Pioneers.
Diaz led North Central with 16 points, highlighted by a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line, followed closely by Sveiteris with 14 points off of the bench. Surin added ten while Molloy, Bullock Jr. and Davis scored nine. As a team, North Central shot 38.5% from the floor and 24% from behind the arc. The Cardinals made 26-of-30 free throws, compared to Carroll's 21-of-30 night at the line. The Pioneers shot 42.4% from the field with a 28.0% mark from deep. McNabb led all players with 29 points on the night, including an 11-for-11 mark from the free throw line.
The Cardinals look to build on the victory Saturday as North Central visits Elmhurst University for the teams' first matchup of the season. Tipoff inside R.A. Faganel Hall is set for 4:15 p.m.
