Saturday began with a Senior Day celebration and ended with a coronation at Gregory Arena, as the North Central College men's basketball team let loose a record barrage of three-point shots and claimed its first outright College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Championship since 1990 with a 91-58 bludgeoning of Millikin University.

The Cardinals (18-7, 12-2 CCIW) smothered Millikin with a furious first-half assault and set a single-game school record by making 15 three-pointers in securing the program's second straight conference title.

North Central opened the game with a 12-2 run and needed only nine minutes to establish a 20-point advantage. The Cardinals closed the opening period with a 13-0 surge, including three three-pointers from senior guard Kevin Gillespie, and went into the halftime break with a commanding 57-23 advantage. The hosts shot 71.0 percent (22-31) from the floor in the first half, making 11 of 15 shots from beyond the three-point arc (73.3 percent). 

The Cardinals' lead reached as many as 50 points before the regulars left the floor. North Central shot 57.9 percent (33-57) from the floor in the contest, including 60.0 percent accuracy (15-25) from three-point range, and owned a 40-22 rebounding advantage. 

Gillespie finished with game highs of 17 points and six assists, while Vince Kmiecscored 15 points. Both Cardinals made 5 of 8 three-point shots. CJ Goldthreeadded 11 points and Landon Gamble and Charlie Rosenberg each scored 10. 

Millikin (1-24, 0-14 CCIW) was paced by Matt Merrigan's 16 points. Geoffrey Godwin added 12 points off the bench for the Big Blue.

North Central will host the CCIW Tournament on Friday and Saturday. Pairings and start times will be announced as soon as they are available.