Led by a trio of players who lit up the scoreboard for at least 20 points, the North Central College men's basketball team kept pace in the chase for a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament position on Wednesday, defeating Carroll University, 82-72, for a third straight win at Gregory Arena.

Jagger Anderson and Alex Sorenson each scored 22 points and Matt Cappelletti added 21 to give the Cardinals (12-8, 6-5 CCIW) three 20-point scorers for the first time since Reid Barringer scored 33, Derek Raridon put up 27, Kyle Julius totaled 24 and David Twyman added 21 in a 119-118 triple-overtime win at Aurora on Nov. 24, 2009.

The Cardinals owned a 33-23 rebounding advantage and committed a season-low four turnovers, putting the game away with a 12-2 second-half run after trailing by as many as eight points in the first period.

Carroll (11-9, 6-5) ripped the nets for 56.5 percent shooting (13 of 23) from the floor in the first half, scoring nine straight points on two three-pointers from Tanner Zaeske and a third from Cory Nies to take a 27-19 lead with 7:45 on the clock. Trailing, 34-27, the Cardinals scored nine straight points to take the lead briefly on Anderson's layup with 1:32 left, but the Pioneers countered with a layup by Noah Greve and free throws from Kyle Keranen to take a 38-37 edge into the break.

The contest was tied twice in the early going of the second half before Anderson drained a three to give the hosts a 48-45 lead. Nies knocked down a jumper on the other end before the Cardinals scored 12 of the next 14 points, getting four points each from Sorenson and Erwin Henry, to pull in front, 60-49. Carroll narrowed the gap to 67-61 with 6:39 left, but Aiden Chang and Cappelletti hit three-pointers on consecutive possessions to double the lead to 73-61 and put the contest out of reach.

Anderson and Cappelletti each established career highs in scoring. Cappelletti also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, while Anderson and Chang each totaled six assists.

Carroll was led by Zaeske's 17 points, while Nick Penny scored 15 and Keranen finished with 12. The Pioneers made 21 of 42 field-goal attempts (50.0 percent), making them the first North Central opponent to make half of its shots from the floor in a game this season.

The Cardinals travel to face 20th-ranked North Park University on Saturday. Tipoff at the North Park Gymnasium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.