| Derek Raridon and the Cardinals are closing in on another CCIW title. |
North Central (Ill.) is on the verge of clinching the CCIW title after the Cardinals beat Illinois Wesleyan and got some help from Carthage on Tuesday night.
North Central (Ill.) and host Illinois Wesleyan were tied at 71 with 68 seconds remaining in the game when Aaron Tiknis took over for the Cardinals. He hit a three to give North Central (Ill.) the lead. After the Titans hit two free throws, Tiknis scored a layup to push the Cardinals' lead back to three. Illinois Wesleyan missed its next shot and North Central (Ill.) made its free throws to ice the game, 80-73.
The Cardinals have a two-game lead on No. 19 Wheaton (Ill.) in the CCIW standings with three games left after the Thunder lost at Carthage, 69-67. North Central (Ill.) hosts Wheaton on Saturday and then finishes with North Park and Millikin, which have a combined conference record of 1-21.
A week after scoring the 2,000th point of his career, DaQuan Brooks exploded for 48 more and Western Connecticut edged Eastern Connecticut 82-81 in overtime. Jamie Kohn hit a jumper with five seconds left to give Eastern Connecticut an 81-80 lead, but Brooks found Gary Robinson for a layup at the buzzer to give the Colonials the victory. Video below:
Hobart knocked off Union 62-60 on a three pointer by Greg Stern with one second remaining. The Statesmen sit atop the Liberty League at 10-2 in conference while Union drops a half game behind RPI and Clarkson for the fourth and final playoff spot.
Lamonte Thomas scored 45 points for Johnson and Wales who beat Lasell 90-75.
On a relatively quiet night for women's action, Rhode Island College tied the program record for victories by downing Mass.-Dartmouth 72-50. The Anchorwomen are 20-2, 11-0 in the Little East. Virginia Wesleyan took care of Lynchburg 67-56 to set up a Saturday showdown with Eastern Mennonite for first place in the ODAC. Maine-Presque Isle fell to USCAA foe Maine-Fort Kent 74-73 in triple overtime.