Playing with a lack of available bodies but a wealth of determination and hustle, the North Central College men's basketball team won for the third straight time on Saturday, whethering a second-half rally by North Park University and posting a 69-61 victory on the Vikings' home floor.

The fifth-ranked Cardinals (16-1, 5-1 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) started the game without junior guard Brandon Williams, who was out due to illness, and senior forward Aaron Tiknis, who missed his third straight game with a knee injury. North Central also played the second half without leading scorerLandon Gamble, who went down with an apparent ankle injury and did not return.

North Central did, however, still manage to own a hefty 44-24 rebounding advantage and sink 26 of 38 free-throw attempts, trailing only briefly in the first half despite a spirited comeback effort by the Vikings.

North Park (6-11, 1-5 CCIW) got six of its first eight points on a pair of three-pointers from Zach Cassita to take a 8-6 lead, but the Cardinals went to Gamble in the low post on the next three possessions, getting six straight points, to start what wound up being a 18-5 run which gave North Central a 24-13 lead with 8:25 on the first-half clock. The visitors led by at least seven points the rest of the first period, carrying a 36-29 lead into halftime. 

North Park's defensive pressure caused its share of problems for the Cardinals early in the second half, as North Central turned the ball over seven times in the first 10 minutes of play. The Vikings, meanwhile, knocked down three three-pointers in a two-minute span and narrowed the gap to a single point at 48-47 with 12:05 to play.

The Cardinals got a jumper from Derek Raridon and a layup from Jack Burchett to prevent North Park from venturing in front, but Viking guard Ryan Hyrn drove the lane for a layup before coming up with a steal and making two free throws to leave the hosts within a point of the lead once again at 52-51.

Hryn had an opportunity to put North Park in front on the next trip down the floor, but his three-pointer was off the mark and the Cardinals' Pat Rourke made two free throws after Vince Kmiec grabbed the rebound. A layup by Reggie McGee and a pair of charity shots by Mark Holmes left the Vikings with a 57-55 deficit with 4:25 to play, but the hosts were held scoreless over the next three minutes. North Central made 9 of 14 free throws in the final 1:36, which turned out to be enough to seal the win as the Vikings missed four of their final six shots from the field.

Raridon finished with a game-high 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting, moving into fourth place all-time a North Central in career scoring (1,462). Before leaving the game, Gamble had made 6 of 7 field goals and scored 14 points to become the 24th player in school history to tally at least 1,000 career points (1,006). Burchett posted his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while blocking a team-high three blocked shots, Charlie Rosenberg totaled 11 points, and Kmiec pulled down a career-best 12 rebounds. 

Holmes paced North Park with 15 points, while Cassita added 13 and Hyrn scored 12.

North Central travels to face 18th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University (14-3, 6-0) on Wednesday. Tipoff at the Shirk Center is set for 7 p.m.